Here’s where home insurance increased the most in Canada’s wildfire-risk areas

A new report looks at how much home insurance has increased in wildfire-risk areas of Canada.

Monthly home insurance costs are soaring for Canadians in some of the country’s wildfire hotspots, according to a new report from real estate platform Wahi and insurance-rate aggregator MyChoice.

The report analyzed real estate and insurance data across 21 Canadian cities where wildfire incidents were anticipated to be most severe in 2025.

The past two wildfire seasons have been especially devastating for Canada, according to the Canadian Climate Institute: 2023 was the most destructive on record — when an area larger than three Maritime provinces combined was razed — and 2024 ranked sixth.

In Kamloops, B.C. — one of the Canadian cities facing the highest risk of wildfires this year — insurance premiums almost doubled between 2023 and 2025. The average annual insurance premium in Kamloops now works out to nearly a tenth (nine per cent) of a typical mortgage payment on a home in the city, roughly five times the national average.

“This report demonstrates the myriad forces affecting housing affordability in Canada beyond supply and demand, such as carrying costs,” says Wahi economist Ryan McLaughlin. “It’s also another example of how data empowers homebuyers to make informed decisions, budget, and manage expectations.”

Earlier this year, MyChoice developed wildfire risk scores based on the Forecast Severity Rating and the Forecast Severity Anomaly, both sourced from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System’s monthly and seasonal forecasts.

The new report compares the risk level number—with the highest risk at 10 and the lowest at zero—and the home insurance inflation.

Cities such as Kamloops, Kelowna and Regina had wildfire risk scores of nine, while Ontario communities like Barrie or Timmins were between four and five. Most of the cities with high wildfire risks also had the biggest increases in home insurance.

For more information, see the full report here.

Lead photo: Jani Kantokoski