The destruction left in Hurricane Melissa’s wake has once again reminded Jamaica that extreme weather is no longer a distant threat but an immediate reality.

As communities across the island grapple with rebuilding homes, schools, and critical infrastructure, one lesson is increasingly clear: The old ways of building are no longer sufficient. We must embed climate resilience at the core of our construction practices.

Canada provides a compelling case study. Across the Fraser Valley, Southern Ontario, and the Atlantic coast, developers are confronting the same challenge Jamaica now faces: How to ensure that buildings, neighbourhoods, and investments can withstand floods, ice storms, wildfires, and coastal erosion.

For Canadian real estate leaders the imperative is clear: Climate risk is a primary underwriting factor, not a peripheral concern. Developers who fail to plan for rising floodplains or extreme weather face financial as well as human costs.

The stakes are already tangible. Canada’s insured catastrophic losses topped CAD$8 billion in 2024, prompting insurers to rethink coverage and lenders to scrutinise financing in high-risk areas. The same logic applies to Jamaica: Properties rebuilt without climate-conscious design risk becoming uninsurable, underfinanced, or unsellable in a future in which hurricanes and flooding are increasingly frequent.

The lesson, therefore, is clear: Resilience is not optional; it is foundational.

Climate-resilient design is comprehensive. It begins with site selection informed by flood projections and climate data, not historical precedent. In construction, it incorporates elevated building pads, storm water management systems, reflective and insulated materials, natural cooling, and backup power systems.

In Canada, these interventions are often invisible to residents, but their value is unmistakable when buildings remain safe, dry, and operational during disasters. Jamaica, we believe, can adopt the same philosophy. Green roofs, pavements that allow storm water to infiltrate through the surface and into an underlying stone reservoir, reinforced coastal barriers, and elevated foundations are not luxuries, they are insurance against repeated devastation.

Government policy also plays a pivotal role. Canadian municipalities are updating zoning laws and federal programmes provide funding incentives for resilient construction. Jamaica’s own building codes and planning regulations must evolve similarly. Incentives for resilient homes, enforcement of standards for new construction, and integration of climate adaptation into urban planning will ensure that recovery from Melissa is not just reconstruction, but future-proofing.

Finally, resilience is an investment. In Canada, environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-aligned funds, pension capital, and investors increasingly differentiate between climate-ready and legacy properties, creating a market premium for buildings that are prepared for the climate realities of the next 50 years.

Jamaica, too, can benefit from attracting capital toward resilient projects that are not only safer for residents but also financially viable for developers.

As we have argued in this space before, Hurricane Melissa offers a painful but instructive opportunity to rebuild smarter, safer, and stronger. Canada’s experience shows that embedding climate resilience in every stage of development is not theoretical, it is essential.

For Jamaica, the choice is clear: Build back as before and risk repeating the cycle of destruction, or build back with foresight, securing communities for decades to come.