Canada’s weather service is facing growing strain as climate change fuels more extreme weather events and the United States slashes funding for climate and weather research, according to a new report prepared for Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The independent assessment by the Council of Canadian Academies warns that recent cuts to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) threaten Canada’s access to crucial data that supports weather and water monitoring from the Arctic to the Great Lakes. The report calls for stronger partnerships with Europe and urges the creation of a national flash flood warning system to replace Canada’s patchwork of regional alerts.
It highlights that Canada’s weather observation network still has major gaps, especially in the North, where sparse stations miss critical data. Climate change is increasing demand for timely, accurate warnings, while also physically damaging weather infrastructure and stretching already static budgets.
The authors say that integrating artificial intelligence with traditional physics-based forecasting models will be key to producing more reliable and frequent predictions. They stress that Canada must invest in its own data sovereignty to remain resilient in an era where international data sharing is no longer guaranteed.