National

Minister won't commit to national flood insurance program in near future

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Apr, 2026 09:18 AM

Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski says she can't promise the government will launch the promised National Flood Insurance Program "in the near future."

The program was first promised by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 as an affordability measure to help households in flood-prone areas.

The government didn't start working on the program until 2023 and committed to implementing it by the end of 2025.

Olszewski told reporters on Tuesday it's still "top of mind" but it's a complicated program to set up.

Communities in several provinces were under flood warnings Tuesday and areas near Sudbury, Ont., and Gatineau, Que., declared states of emergency.

A 2022 report by Canada's Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation estimated the average annual cost of residential flooding in Canada at $2.97 billion.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Poilievre would impose life sentences for trafficking over 40 mg of fentanyl

Pierre Poilievre says a Conservative government would bring in mandatory life sentences for those convicted of trafficking, production and distribution of over 40 mg of fentanyl. The Conservative leader said early Wednesday the penalty should be the same as murder.

Poilievre would impose life sentences for trafficking over 40 mg of fentanyl

Prime Minister Trudeau will host a Canada-U.S. summit amid threat of Trump tariffs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will host a Canada-U.S. economic summit in Toronto on Friday, days after President Donald Trump said he would hold off on his threatened tariffs against Canada for a month. The Prime Minister's Office says the event will assemble Canadian trade and business leaders, along with organized labour, to discuss strategies to grow the economy, break down internal trade barriers and diversify exports.

Prime Minister Trudeau will host a Canada-U.S. summit amid threat of Trump tariffs

Trade surplus with U.S. widened in December but down overall in 2024: StatCan

Canada's trade surplus with the U.S. widened in December as overall exports rose thanks in part to higher energy prices, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The global trade surplus in goods came in at $708 million for the month, compared with a revised deficit of $986 million in November, to mark the first merchandise trade surplus since February 2024.

Trade surplus with U.S. widened in December but down overall in 2024: StatCan

Mark Carney pledges to beat Trudeau's target date for meeting NATO spending benchmark

Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney has pledged to hit Canada's NATO defence spending target by the end of the decade — two years ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's schedule.

Mark Carney pledges to beat Trudeau's target date for meeting NATO spending benchmark

International grads more likely to hold jobs below their education levels: StatCan

International students who graduated from Canadian schools are more likely to be underemployed than their Canadian peers — and many are living with lower incomes as a result. Statistics Canada's national graduates survey looked at the employment rate for more than 83,000 international students who graduated in 2020, remained in Canada and did not pursue further education.

International grads more likely to hold jobs below their education levels: StatCan

B.C. homicide team investigates beating death of a 19-year-old man

Homicide investigators are looking into an attack on a 19-year-old man that started in Abbotsford, B.C., then led officers to Crescent Beach in Surrey more than 45 kilometres away. Officers were called on Jan. 27 to an area on Victoria Street in Abbotsford when witnesses were reporting that a man was assaulted and then taken away in a vehicle.