OTTAWA — Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski says she can’t promise the government will launch the promised National Flood Insurance Program “in the near future.”

The program was first promised by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 as an affordability measure to help households in flood-prone areas.

The government didn’t start working on the program until 2023 and committed to implementing it by the end of 2025.

Olszewski told reporters on Tuesday it’s still “top of mind” but it’s a complicated program to set up.

Communities in several provinces were under flood warnings Tuesday and areas near Sudbury, Ont., and Gatineau, Que., declared states of emergency.

A 2022 report by Canada’s Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation estimated the average annual cost of residential flooding in Canada at $2.97 billion.

— This report from The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press