New industry estimates suggest powerful thunderstorms across Ontario and Quebec during the week of Canada Day caused $439 million in insured damage. The damage estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. offer a snapshot of the insurance market in the aftermath of the storms, covering both property and vehicle claims. The storms between June 30 and July 3 brought wind, hail, torrential rain and flash flooding to communities across Ontario and Quebec. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says hard-hit Ottawa broke its daily rainfall record when it was drenched by 118 millimetres on July 1. Streets and highways were inundated, and the insurance bureau says local officials reported more than 4,500 flooded basements. The total economic toll is far higher because the estimates don’t capture uninsured property damage and other indirect losses. “These storms underscore the need for greater investment in measures that reduce flood risk and better protect Canadians from future losses,” Maximilien Roy, vice-president with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said in a news release. Canada suffers about $9.2 billion in total losses every year from catastrophes, largely from wildfires and extreme weather, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction estimated in a 2025 report. The losses, both insured and uninsured, have grown at about 9.4 per cent annually since the 1980s, outpacing population, GDP and construction spending, the report said. Climate change, driven by fossil fuel pollution, is a major driver of those increases as storms grow more frequent and intense, experts say. Other factors include population growth in high-risk areas, higher reconstruction costs, aging sewer systems and more finished basements. As insured damages soar, so too has the price tag Canadians pay for insurance. A recent Statistics Canada report found home and mortgage insurance premiums increased by 45 per cent across Canada between December 2019 and December 2025, more than double overall inflation. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.
