Jasper wildfire responsible for $650 million in commercial losses

The Municipality of Jasper accounted for nearly 40 per cent of extreme weather losses to commercial property nationally in 2024.

Last summer’s blaze caused $650 million out of $1.7 billion in insured commercial losses for Canada, according to data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).

“Thousands of businesses felt the impacts of severe weather last year,” said Liam McGuinty, vice president of strategy for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), in a Thursday (March 13) news release. “The historic amount of damage in 2024 underscores the escalating financial risks Canadian businesses face from catastrophic weather events.”

The Jasper wildfire, which impacted 358 of the town’s 1,113 structures, was initially estimated to have caused $880 million in insured damages, but that figure has since risen to $1.23 billion. The loss number covers commercial and residential property and motor vehicle claims.

The $1.7 billion in insured commercial losses nationally was the second-highest total in Canadian history. Most of these losses occurred during a 24-day period last summer and were caused by extreme weather events such as wildfires, floods and hailstorms.

“These severe weather events have caused not only physical damage, but have also disrupted business operations, supply chains and the flow of goods and services in the Canadian economy,” McGuinty said.

Since 2010, over 132,000 businesses in Canada have filed claims due to extreme weather events, according to CatIQ. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire remains the costliest event historically for commercial insured losses at $1,918,420.

The cost of insured losses for damage to homes, businesses and vehicles has doubled over the past five years from $10 billion to $20 billion. According to the IBC, this trend illustrates the pressures underlying insurance premiums.

McGuinty called on Canadian governments to invest in infrastructure that defends against floods, improve land-use planning so structures are not built on flood plains and ensure FireSmart practices are followed in communities with high-risk wildfire zones.

“As weather-related risks continue to intensify year after year, we need to get serious about public policy solutions that make Canada more resilient,” he said.