Rising temperatures are exacerbating the length, frequency, and intensity of extreme heat events in Canadian communities. High temperatures lead to heat-related illnesses, worsening existing health conditions, and decreasing economic productivity, making it crucial to have protective measures in place.
Globally and within Canada, local authorities are pivotal in addressing climate impacts, as their decisions directly affect community resilience. Public Health Units (PHUs) and municipalities play distinct but complementary roles during extreme heat events. PHUs issue heat warnings, provide public health guidance, coordinate with healthcare facilities, and support vulnerable populations. In contrast, municipalities implement local heat response plans, open cooling centers, equip public services to handle the heat, communicate heat safety measures to the public, and can use bylaw authorities to regulate internal building temperatures in both winter and summer.
Heat impacts are felt unequally across communities. Public cooling centers, essential for unhoused individuals and outdoor workers, are often inaccessible to those with mobility challenges, disabilities, or respiratory problems. The 2021 extreme heat event in British Columbia, which resulted in 619 deaths, underscored the inadequacy of resources for individuals without access to cooling spaces or with disabilities, as 98% of the deaths occurred due to a lack of adequate cooling within homes.
Landlords across Canada are obligated to provide a minimum level of heat in winter. However, similar requirements for cooling in summer are typically absent. This gap poses a significant challenge and opportunity for municipalities striving to ensure community resilience to heat, especially for vulnerable and equity-deserving residents.
This project aims to support municipalities in playing an active role in ensuring that indoor temperatures in rental units (especially those housing equity-deserving and vulnerable members of communities) remain safe and comfortable during heat events.
Resources
Through this project, we have developed a range of resources to help municipal staff advance a maximum heat bylaw in their jurisdictions. These are:
Backgrounder on Maximum Temperature Bylaw (English)
Contexte de la réglementation sur la température maximale (French)
Jurisdictional Scan of Maximum Heat Related Bylaws and Policies (English)
Analyse juridictionnelle des règlements sur la température maximale (French)
A Model Maximum Temperature Bylaw (English)
Modèle de Règlement sur la température maximale (French)
Model Staff Reports (English)
Modèle de Rapport du personnel (French)
Indoor Heat Bylaw Workshop Series
As a part of this project, we conducted a three-part Indoor Heat Bylaw workshop series in May and June 2025 on the following topics:
Workshop 1: Understanding the Heat Risk Landscape in Canadian Communities
May 7, 2025 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
This workshop covered topics including climate change and rising heat events, the impact of heat events on health and productivity, an overview of the roles municipalities have been playing during heat events, and the role of legislation in advancing climate adaptation to heat events and introduce the model maximum temperature by-law.
Workshop 2: Understanding Municipal Maximum Temperature Bylaws
May 20, 2025 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
This workshop provided an overview of City of Mississauga’s Adequate Temperature Bylaw, Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment’s heat-related projects, and City of Calgary’s cooling strategies. The workshop also introduced the Model Maximum Temperature Bylaw and Model Staff Reports developed by Climate Action Partnership.
Workshop 3: Turning Policy into Action – Implementing the Maximum Heat Bylaw
June 12, 2025 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
This workshop provided information on how staff can explore advancing the adoption and implementation of the bylaw in their municipalities, including the stakeholder engagement process and additional short and long-term actions to support cooling.
