Climate and flooding: Barrie's targets, its own emissions, and the floodplain

What has council committed to?

• 2017, adaptation. On May 15, 2017 council carried 17-G-106, the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. Adaptation, in the strategy's words, means reducing "the vulnerability of social, ecological, physical, and economic systems to changing climate conditions"; it is separate from cutting emissions.
• 2019, climate emergency. 19-G-291, carried by council on October 28, 2019, declared a climate emergency. It asked staff to report back on an approach to a Climate Change Mitigation Plan, including "the reduction of municipal carbon emissions including the identification of specific targets and, ultimately, net zero carbon emissions by 2050".
• 2022, the community. On March 28, 2022 council endorsed "in principle" the Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan, published as Inspiring Climate Action in Barrie (22-G-055). Its target: "reduce overall GHG emissions 45% below 2018 levels by 2030 and to become net-zero by 2050". Without action, the plan projects emissions 40% above 2018 by 2050.
• 2025, the City's own operations. On June 18, 2025 council endorsed the Corporate Net Zero Strategy 2025–2050 in principle (25-G-166). The same motion has all internal-combustion vehicles replaced with electric equivalents, "typically at end of life" and when feasible, and says "any ROI (return on investment) beyond 5 years on new builds be approved by the Mayor and the Chief Administrative Officer".

The 2025 strategy does not claim to reach net zero by itself. Its own pathway cuts the City's emissions 53% below 2022 levels by 2050, leaving 18,200 tonnes a year. For what remains, it points to solar power for the grid-electricity share, and for the rest to nature-based solutions such as carbon sequestration "and then, if necessary, through carbon offsets". The City joined the Partners for Climate Protection program, a network of municipalities committed to cutting greenhouse gases, in 2001. Its 2022 baseline, and how much of it comes from the landfill, is on the electricity page; what the plans say about natural gas is on the natural gas page.

Sources: City Council Minutes, May 15, 2017, City of Barrie — City Council, dated May 15, 2017. Original document. 17-G-106, Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, carried. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (2017), City of Barrie. Original document. Adopted by council May 15, 2017 (17-G-106). Exhibit 3 projects days above 30 C rising from 4 a year (1971 to 2000) to 15 by 2020, 28 by 2050 and 49 by 2080; says the City committed to the Partners for Climate Protection Program in 2001. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, October 7, 2019, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated October 7, 2019. Original document. 19-G-291, Climate Change Mitigation Plan: declares a climate emergency and asks for a report on a mitigation plan including municipal "net zero carbon emissions by 2050". Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, October 28, 2019, City of Barrie — City Council, dated October 28, 2019. Original document. 19-G-291 adopted in Section "F" of the General Committee Report of October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, March 21, 2022, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated March 21, 2022. Original document. 22-G-055, Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, March 28, 2022, City of Barrie — City Council, dated March 28, 2022. Original document. 22-G-055 adopted in Section "D" of the General Committee Report of March 21, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Inspiring Climate Action in Barrie, Part 1 (Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan), City of Barrie (prepared by LURA Consulting, ICLEI Canada and Wood). Original document. Endorsed in principle by council March 28, 2022 (22-G-055). Retrieved October 7, 2026. Finance and Responsible Governance Committee Minutes, June 4, 2025, City of Barrie — Finance and Responsible Governance Committee, dated June 4, 2025. Original document. Corporate Net Zero Strategy 2025-2050; adopted by council June 18, 2025 as 25-G-166. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, June 18, 2025 (Final), City of Barrie — City Council, dated June 18, 2025. Original document. Passes By-law 2025-070, altering the ward boundaries and repealing By-law 2013-134 (item 25-G-172). The same meeting adopts the General Committee report that includes 25-G-166, the Corporate Net Zero Strategy 2025-2050, and records two 9-0 votes, with two members absent: 25-G-177, the South Barrie Mixed Use Recreation Complex and Library, and 25-G-178, the Barrie Performing Arts and Event Centre design development. Retrieved August 9, 2026. Corporate Net-Zero Strategy 2025-2050, City of Barrie. Original document. The City's own operations, 2022 baseline: 100,270 MWh of energy, 38,500 tonnes CO2e (61% from the landfill's decomposing waste); the wastewater plant's two 250 kW biogas co-generation engines, one run at a time. Serves as the five-year conservation plan required by O. Reg. 25/23. Retrieved October 7, 2026.

How much does the Barrie community emit, and from what?

In 2018 the community produced 1.07 million tonnes of greenhouse gas, the plan says, or 6.9 tonnes per person. More than half came from private vehicles and about a quarter from homes. The 2025 strategy puts the City's own operations at roughly 4% of the community's total.

Sources: Inspiring Climate Action in Barrie, Part 1 (Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan), City of Barrie (prepared by LURA Consulting, ICLEI Canada and Wood). Original document. Endorsed in principle by council March 28, 2022 (22-G-055). Corporate Net-Zero Strategy 2025-2050, City of Barrie. Original document. The City's own operations, 2022 baseline: 100,270 MWh of energy, 38,500 tonnes CO2e (61% from the landfill's decomposing waste); the wastewater plant's two 250 kW biogas co-generation engines, one run at a time. Serves as the five-year conservation plan required by O. Reg. 25/23. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Has council been told how the plan is going?

Council asked to be. The third part of 22-G-055 reads: "That staff in the Facilities Department present a progress report annually to General Committee concerning the Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan." The 2025 Net Zero Strategy motion asks for the same thing each year on the corporate strategy.

What this site checked: the 311 sets of council and committee minutes it holds from March 29, 2022 to September 16, 2026. None records a progress report on the community plan. The set is not complete: it has no minutes from November or December 2025, for example. A report could have gone to a meeting this site does not hold, so this is a gap in what the minutes show, not proof that no report was made. No community emissions inventory for any year after 2018 was found either.

Sources: General Committee Minutes, March 21, 2022, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated March 21, 2022. Original document. 22-G-055, Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan. Finance and Responsible Governance Committee Minutes, June 4, 2025, City of Barrie — Finance and Responsible Governance Committee, dated June 4, 2025. Original document. Corporate Net Zero Strategy 2025-2050; adopted by council June 18, 2025 as 25-G-166. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Are the City's own buildings producing less?

Ontario Regulation 25/23 requires public bodies, the City included, to report their buildings' energy use and greenhouse gas emissions every year, and the Province publishes the filings as open data. The City's filings cover its buildings and its water and wastewater plants. They do not include vehicles, buses or the landfill.

Comparing like with like, the 68 properties that appear in both years produced 5,479 tonnes in 2021 and 5,799 tonnes in 2024, up 6% (this site's arithmetic). The files do not give a reason, and two years are too few to call a trend. The largest single sources in both years were the surface water treatment plant and the Peggy Hill Team Community Centre.

Sources: Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for the Broader Public Sector (City of Barrie rows, 2011–2024), Province of Ontario, Ministry of Energy. Original document. Sums of the "City of Barrie" rows are this site's: 5,492.8 t (2021, 69 properties) and 5,814.5 t (2024, 69); the 68 properties in both years 5,478.9 t and 5,799.0 t. The 2022 and 2023 files contain no City of Barrie rows. 2011 to 2020 come from the normalized municipal file, with 30 to 68 entries a year. Corporate Net-Zero Strategy 2025-2050, City of Barrie. Original document. The City's own operations, 2022 baseline: 100,270 MWh of energy, 38,500 tonnes CO2e (61% from the landfill's decomposing waste); the wastewater plant's two 250 kW biogas co-generation engines, one run at a time. Serves as the five-year conservation plan required by O. Reg. 25/23. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

How many properties are in the floodplain?

Assessed values are MPAC's for 2018. The plan's subtotal for the three Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority watersheds is $46.5 million, $1 million more than its own rows add up to, and its total carries that subtotal. No later count was found.

The City's Drainage Master Plan, prepared by Tatham Engineering and dated March 29, 2019, says flooding of private land "historically has occurred along the creeks throughout the City". It rejected leaving the creeks as they are, which would have meant buying flood-prone properties to meet City standards, as "not practical due to economic and social implications". It also said the City allowed for climate change in drainage design by adding 15% to the rainfall intensities it plans for.

Two conservation authorities cover Barrie: the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority for the Bear Creek, Little Lake, Georgian Creek and Thornton Creek watersheds, and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority for the rest. The Lake Simcoe authority says it regulates development in flood-prone areas and issues flood warnings, but it is "not responsible for fixing flooding"; local drainage problems go to the City. How stormwater is paid for, and the stormwater charge council approved in 2022 and then cancelled, are on the water rates and infrastructure gap pages.

Sources: Drainage Master Plan, Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Phases 1 & 2, City of Barrie (prepared by Tatham Engineering), dated March 29, 2019. Original document. Wayback Machine copy. Table 7: 551 private properties within the regulatory floodplain, 2018 MPAC assessed value $349,558,869; the NVCA subtotal ($46,534,675) is $1 million more than its rows. Section 19: the City adds 15% to its rainfall IDF relationships for climate change. Flooding, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. Original document. The authority regulates development in flood-prone areas and issues flood alerts; it "is not responsible for fixing flooding"; local drainage issues go to the municipality. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

What has extreme weather cost, and what does the City expect?

• 2016 ice storm. The City's 2022 climate plan says it "damaged or destroyed trees on 70% of Barrie's streets and resulted in more than $25 million in insurance claims".
• July 15, 2021 tornado. The Insurance Bureau of Canada's estimate of $100 million in insured damage covers all six tornadoes that day, in Barrie, Innisfil, Kawartha Lakes, Little Britain, Manilla, Lindsay and Lake of Bays, not Barrie alone; so do its counts of 71 uninhabitable homes and over 2,200 claims. No Barrie-only figure was found. In November 2021 council waived fixed water and wastewater charges for affected homeowners until water was being used again, waived late charges on their 2021 final tax bills until January 1, 2022, and asked staff for options to require hurricane straps on new homes (21-G-265).
• March 28–30, 2025 ice storm. Council asked the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to open the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program so the City could claim its costs (25-A-065, June 2025), then asked for help under the Municipal Ice Storm Assistance Program (25-A-098, October 2025). An item titled "Ice Storm Replanting and Recovery" (25-G-173) carried on June 18, 2025; its text was not reviewed for this page.

The 2017 adaptation strategy projects that days above 30 °C, 4 a year from 1971 to 2000, will reach 15 a year by 2020, 28 by 2050 and 49 by 2080. These are model projections, not measurements.

Sources: Inspiring Climate Action in Barrie, Part 1 (Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan), City of Barrie (prepared by LURA Consulting, ICLEI Canada and Wood). Original document. Endorsed in principle by council March 28, 2022 (22-G-055). Retrieved October 7, 2026. Barrie-and-area tornadoes insured damage increases to $100 million, Insurance Bureau of Canada, dated October 28, 2021. Original document. Wayback Machine copy. The $100 million (up from $75 million), 10 injuries, 71 uninhabitable homes and over 2,200 claims cover six EF-2 tornadoes on July 15, 2021 in Barrie, Innisfil, Kawartha Lakes, Little Britain, Manilla, Lindsay and Lake of Bays; CatIQ estimate. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, November 15, 2021, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated November 15, 2021. Original document. 21-G-265 (FIN017-21): relief for homeowners hit by the July 15, 2021 tornado (fixed water and wastewater charges waived until water is used; late charges on 2021 final tax bills waived until January 1, 2022), and options to require hurricane straps in new homes. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, November 22, 2021, City of Barrie — City Council, dated November 22, 2021. Original document. 21-G-265 carried. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, June 4, 2025, City of Barrie — City Council, dated June 4, 2025. Original document. Adopts Section "B" of the General Committee Report of May 28, 2025, including 25-G-129. 25-A-065: after the March 28-30, 2025 ice storm, asks the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to activate the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, October 1, 2025, City of Barrie — City Council, dated October 1, 2025. Original document. 25-A-098: requests assistance under the Municipal Ice Storm Assistance Program for the March 2025 ice storm. Retrieved October 7, 2026. City Council Minutes, June 18, 2025 (Final), City of Barrie — City Council, dated June 18, 2025. Original document. Passes By-law 2025-070, altering the ward boundaries and repealing By-law 2013-134 (item 25-G-172). The same meeting adopts the General Committee report that includes 25-G-166, the Corporate Net Zero Strategy 2025-2050, and records two 9-0 votes, with two members absent: 25-G-177, the South Barrie Mixed Use Recreation Complex and Library, and 25-G-178, the Barrie Performing Arts and Event Centre design development. Retrieved August 9, 2026. Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (2017), City of Barrie. Original document. Adopted by council May 15, 2017 (17-G-106). Exhibit 3 projects days above 30 C rising from 4 a year (1971 to 2000) to 15 by 2020, 28 by 2050 and 49 by 2080; says the City committed to the Partners for Climate Protection Program in 2001. Retrieved October 7, 2026.

How much tree cover does Barrie have?

Nobody knows exactly. The City's Urban Forest Strategy of November 25, 2013 mapped forest cover at 1,595 hectares, 19.6% of the city's land, and said: "current estimates of canopy cover is around 23-25%. An actual measurement of total canopy area (forested area plus individual trees) has never been completed for the City of Barrie." The street-tree inventory had grown from about 22,000 trees in 2004 to over 33,000 by then.

The strategy planned a canopy assessment from satellite imagery and a Forest Management Plan, targeted for 2017, in which canopy targets would be set. Council adopted the strategy in January 2014 "to guide the development of the City's Urban Forest Management Plan" (14-G-006). This site found no such plan, and no measured canopy figure, in the minutes it holds from 2014 to 2026. Barrie has no canopy target: the 2022 climate plan still lists "Setting a target for Barrie's urban canopy cover" among possible actions.

What council does control is the Private Tree By-law, 2014-115. After a review of the by-law and of ecological offsetting, council approved changes 11 votes to 0 in April 2023 (23-G-082) and passed the amending by-law in May.

Sources: Urban Forest Strategy, City of Barrie, dated November 25, 2013. Original document. Forest cover 1,595 ha (19.6%); canopy estimated "around 23-25%", never measured; street-tree inventory grew from about 22,000 (2004) to over 33,000. Plans a canopy assessment and a Forest Management Plan targeted for 2017. General Committee Minutes, January 6, 2014, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated January 6, 2014. Original document. 14-G-006: the Urban Forest Strategy (RPF002-14) "be adopted to guide the development of the City's Urban Forest Management Plan". City Council Minutes, January 13, 2014, City of Barrie — City Council, dated January 13, 2014. Original document. 14-G-006, Urban Forest Strategy, adopted in Section "B" of the General Committee Report of January 6, 2014. Inspiring Climate Action in Barrie, Part 2: Big Moves, City of Barrie (prepared by LURA Consulting, ICLEI Canada and Wood). Original document. Strategy 1, Deep Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program; and Strategy 19, Nature-Based Solutions, which lists "Setting a target for Barrie's urban canopy cover" among possible actions. City Council Minutes, April 19, 2023, City of Barrie — City Council, dated April 19, 2023. Original document. 23-G-082, Private Tree By-law and Ecological Offsetting Review, carried as amended, 11-0; the amendment adds a "Certified Arborist" definition to Private Tree By-law 2014-115. City Council Minutes, May 17, 2023, City of Barrie — City Council, dated May 17, 2023. Original document. By-law 2023-054, amending Private Tree By-law 2014-115 (23-G-082), passed. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

What can council actually decide?

• Council decides: what the City does with its own buildings, fleet, buses and landfill; whether to fund and act on its climate plans, and whether to ask for the progress reports it ordered; drainage and stormwater spending and how it is paid for; street-tree planting and the private tree by-law; and land-use planning.
• Council does not decide: how residents travel and heat their homes, though private vehicles and homes produced 81% of the 2018 community total (this site's arithmetic from the plan's figures); the carbon content of Ontario's electricity (the Province and the IESO; see electricity); the building code (the Province); where building is allowed in a floodplain (the Lake Simcoe and Nottawasaga Valley conservation authorities); or disaster-relief money (the Province).