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The Ontario government has officially triggered a financial assistance program to help Ottawa residents in only some parts of the city where homes were damaged by flooding from the intense Canada Day storm.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made the announcement early Friday afternoon.
The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians (DRAO) program can reimburse people for cleanup, repairing or replacing essential property, and basic emergency expenses such as travel. It was previously triggered by local Ottawa River flooding.
A coverage map released in tandem with Friday’s announcement shows the area around Graham Creek and Stillwater Creek will receive aid. Those waterways “overflowed their banks, leading to overland flooding that caused damage to homes in the area,” according to the province.
DRAO map (Government of Ontario)
The Kanata North, Bay, College and Knoxdale-Merivale wards accounted for the highest concentrations of service requests to the city, according to one of its post-storm updates, “indicating [those] residents experienced significant flooding-related impacts.”
But Kanata North is not covered under the aid announced Friday by Ontario.
Months to apply
Homeowners who apply are eligible for up to $250,000, as are small businesses, farms and non-profits, according to the province.
The deadline to apply is Nov. 16, 2026, according to the program page.
But there are rules to DRAO, which is meant to provide financial support for damage caused by the flooding that is not covered by insurance.
Armour, Burk’s Falls, French River, Sudbury, Orillia, Ramara and Kawartha Lakes will also benefit from help under this round of DRAO after they experienced flooding back in April, according to Friday’s release from the ministry.