Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities

Climate impacts across Canada are placing a growing strain on local governments with increased floods, fires, heatwaves, and severe storms. The Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC) framework offers a clear, practical pathway to strengthen local resilience and address priority vulnerabilities. First launched in 2008, the framework has been refreshed to introduce updated methodologies, tools, and guidance that reflect today’s urgent climate realities. It provides support for building the business case and financing adaptation, stronger direction on governance and implementation readiness, and embeds equity, inclusion, and reconciliation throughout the process. Designed to meet communities where they are, BARC enables local leaders to shape and drive their own adaptation journeys. It offers a scalable, community-centred model for planning and implementation grounded in real-world practice and adaptable to diverse contexts and climate risks.