Little economic support is available to evacuees now out of work, insurance disputes loom and economic growth may be eroded.
While this year’s wildfire rampage is far from over, its growing economic costs are becoming increasingly clear.
Although we’ve already seen about 10 times as much land burn in Canada this year than we did in all of 2022, this season is unlikely to be a record breaker in terms of financial devastation.
That dubious title belongs to the 2016 season, when the Fort McMurray fire alone forced the evacuation of about 90,000 people and ultimately cost the insurance industry about 4.4 billion Canadian dollars.
That fire also significantly affected the Canadian economy by disrupting production at the oil sands.
But there’s no question that this year’s fires have taken a significant toll on thousands of people as well as governments and, it is likely, the Canadian economy as a whole.
