Climate Change and Healthcare System Preparedness in Canada: Emergency Response Capacity and Infrastructure Resilience Strategies

Climate change has emerged as one of the most significant system-level threats to health service delivery in Canada. Increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and other climate-related events are worsening population health outcomes while simultaneously disrupting healthcare operations, infrastructure, and workforce stability. This paper synthesizes recent peer-reviewed evidence to assess climate-related preparedness within Canadian healthcare systems, focusing on emergency response capacity and infrastructure resilience in acute care settings. The research question guiding this analysis is: How prepared is the Canadian healthcare system to respond to climate change-related health impacts, and what healthcare management strategies are required to strengthen emergency preparedness and infrastructure resilience? Key findings indicate that climate-related disasters place growing pressure on healthcare infrastructure, workforce capacity, and emergency response systems. Events such as the 2021 British Columbia heat dome and the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire illustrate how extreme climate events can overwhelm healthcare services and expose preparedness gaps. The study highlights the need for improved governance, workforce training, climate-resilient infrastructure, and coordinated emergency planning to strengthen healthcare system resilience in Canada (Pirouzi, 2026). Keywords: climate change, healthcare preparedness, emergency management, infrastructure resilience, Canadian healthcare, disaster response, health system adaptation