The Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) programme provides financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments for response and recovery costs from large-scale disasters caused by natural hazards. The DFAA Guidelines outline which provincial and territorial costs can be shared with the federal government and how provinces and territories can apply for and manage claims. The DFAA is a discretionary Government of Canada program, where the Government of Canada may choose whether to provide federal financial assistance to a province/territory in the event of a disaster and, if the Government of Canada decides such financial assistance is appropriate, the Government of Canada may select the DFAA or such other mechanism or government program which it believes, in its sole discretion, is most appropriate to provide such financial assistance to an affected province/territory.
The program is meant to work alongside other risk management strategies like insurance, risk-informed land use and development, and hazard mitigation measures that reduce the impact of disasters before they happen. The updated Guidelines apply to eligible disasters beginning 1 April 2025.The disaster must have been a distinct disaster (with a definable start, end, and spatial impact) for which the impacts stemmed from a natural hazard. The programme does not apply to underlying conditions or climatic trends that do not result in a distinct disaster (such as El Niño/La Niña conditions, long-term climate change, etc.).
