What does the future, climate resilient Merritt look like to you?
Through this plan, the City of Merritt will:
- Build upon existing governance documents, such as the Hazards, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis (2026) and the Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (2024), to address multiple climate hazards.
- Identify specific strategies, activities, and actions to reduce vulnerabilities within our community that improve our resiliency to climate-driven challenges.
- Use a whole system, intersectional approach that is grounded in our community’s unique lived experiences, providing a local-to-Merritt perspective on climate action, adaptation, and resiliency.
The Climate & Sustainability Plan will provide a strategic framework to build long-term resilience for Merrittonians in the face of climate change.
Why is it important for the City of Merritt to develop a climate plan?
Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate Change
- Merritt’s economy is driven by the natural resource sectors, which are climate-sensitive.
- Climate change disproportionately impacts rural and low-income communities in Canada compared to urban centres.
- Impacts are felt within the cultural, economic, environmental, health, and social fabrics of a community.
Adaptation Projects & Accessing Funding
Major adaptation measures and adequate climate action infrastructure projects often come with a high price tag. For many local governments, accessing federal climate adaptation funding programs often requires cost-sharing and a completed climate plan to guide the work.
The Climate & Sustainability Plan will identify a list of potential projects that would be eligible for grant funding. It will provide the City with an opportunity to strategically plan for these projects and their associated costs. Potential projects could address community education, drought management, extreme temperatures, flood mitigation, wildfire management, or even energy efficiency upgrades within our facilities.
Questions about this project can be sent to sustainability@merritt.ca.
Merritt Climate & Sustainability Plan Engagement Survey
We’d love your input on the future of climate action in Merritt. This anonymous survey will take roughly 10 minutes to complete. Survey closes September 11, 2026.
The survey will ask you questions about your experiences with climate-related impacts and climate action, your knowledge of climate and sustainability topics and resources, which actions the City should explore and how you think we should prioritize those actions.
Collection Notice
Personal information is collected by the City of Merritt under Section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIPPA) for the purpose of conducting a survey regarding the development of Merritt’s Climate & Sustainability Plan, analyzing community feedback, and supporting municipal planning, programs, and services.
Participation in this survey is voluntary. Survey responses may be used in aggregated form for reporting and decision-making purposes.
If you have any questions about the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact the City of Merritt’s Director of Corporate Services at 2185 Voght Street, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8, (250) 378-4224 x211, linda.brick@merritt.ca.