Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Candiac is on Canada’s flood inventory: 3 listed, led by municipalité de Saint-Philippe
Fire has left almost no mark near Candiac: 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986, 0.001% a year. Shaking is a bigger worry than in most places, at $0.20 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Candiac’s survey area, 8.2% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Candiac grades C− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Candiac’s hazards
For Candiac, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Candiac faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Candiac: C−
For Candiac, Risk will be the average of earthquakes and radon, with wildfire added only if it makes the average worse.
Its place: #361 of 507 in Quebec and #2,332 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Candiac has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Candiac’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Low by Canadian standards: 0.001% of the land a year around Candiac, 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Nothing inside 5 km of Candiac’s homes has burned since 1986, and the nearest scar is 6.4 km off.
Forest makes up 0.5% of the land within 5 km of Candiac and 0.5% within 25 km, little for a forest fire to run through.
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in Quebec · highest of 513
In the upper half in Quebec but far from Mistissini (0.31%): Candiac ranks 136th of 513, at 0.001% a year.
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
Candiac is in the low band with 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns; 7.5% sit in moderate or higher.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
Candiac is on the flood map inventory: 3 studies, latest by municipalité de Saint-Philippe
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Candiac: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
3 studies on the inventory touch Candiac, the newest municipalité de Saint-Philippe’s from 2012, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| St-Philippe | municipalité de Saint-Philippe | 2012 | final |
| St-Philippe | Gouvernement du Québec | 2006 | final |
| Roussillon-Tortue | MRC Roussillon | 2000 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study sets Candiac apart in Quebec, where 45% of towns have one (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Studies touching Candiac run from the 2000s to the 2010s, with the most in the 2000s: 2 of 3.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Candiac.
Flood mapping is shown for Candiac to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
High seismic risk in Candiac: $0.20 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Roughly 6.5 times the typical $0.030: Candiac’s $0.20 marks real seismic exposure.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
The typical town in Quebec expects $0.14 a year; Candiac expects $0.20, and La Pocatière $0.48.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
12% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Candiac, which places it in the upper third.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Candiac is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
8.2% of homes tested around Candiac are over the radon guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
At 8.2% over the guideline, the area around Candiac is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Candiac’s area, at 8.2%, is close to the median in Quebec (8.2%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Between 5% and 10% of tests over the guideline: Candiac, and 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% are higher.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
Neighbouring homes in Candiac can differ a lot; only a long-term test tells you about yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Data for radon tests covers the Monteregie health region
Where to get warnings in Candiac
Alerts for Candiac come from Environment and Climate Change Canada and, for emergencies, Alert Ready.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
Evacuation orders for Candiac come from the municipality or the province, while CWFIS maps fire danger every day.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Candiac
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candiac | Low | $0.20 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Delson 8,802 · 2.9 km | Low | $0.21 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Sainte-Catherine 17,782 · 4.1 km | Low | $0.22 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Philippe 8,674 · 4.2 km | Low | $0.18 | 8.2% | Yes |
| La Prairie 27,159 · 4.2 km | Low | $0.21 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Constant 32,124 · 5.4 km | Low | $0.22 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Mathieu 2,642 · 7.7 km | Low | $0.18 | 8.2% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Candiac has the most fire on record (low); Delson follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Candiac faces
Practical steps for Candiac’s hazards, most pressing first.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap the water heater down.
- Keep 72 hours of supplies.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Candiac floods.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against Candiac.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Candiac sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Candiac’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Candiac
Does Candiac flood?
Candiac’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How is Candiac’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Candiac grades C− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Is Candiac at risk of wildfire?
Some, but Candiac’s low band (0% of nearby land burned since 1986, latest 2025) is short of the level that counts.
Is radon a problem in Candiac?
The area’s survey found 8.2% of 110 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Candiac.
How big is the earthquake risk in Candiac?
NRCan’s model expects shaking to cost buildings in Candiac $0.20 a year for every $1,000 of their value, on average over many years.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).