The City of New Westminster has begun distributing its new Stay Cool kits to tenants in apartment buildings identified as vulnerable to extreme heat, a low-barrier, direct-to-tenant pilot meant to help residents stay safe where they live.
Council-backed pilot targets renters without building-level cooling
At a June 8 meeting, city council unanimously endorsed a staff recommendation to fund and implement the pilot. City staff say the program responds to tenants’ requests and research showing that rental buildings can become very hot in summer, putting residents at risk — particularly older adults, young people and people with medical conditions.
"We know that rental buildings get very hot in the summertime," said Karin Johnson, the city's manager of climate action. "This program is really trying to look at a way to support people in rental buildings who are experiencing extreme heat, in a way that is very low barrier and low-energy use for them."
City documents state the intent is to offer "practical and easy-to-use personal cooling and heat-safety solutions for renters living in New Westminster" and to report back on the pilot’s outcomes. The program draws on lessons from similar efforts in the City of Vancouver, Hamilton, Montreal, New York City and Washington State.
What's in the kits and how they're meant to help
The kits were selected so items require no technical knowledge to use, are suitable for personal use in living spaces and are accessible for youth, seniors and people with medical conditions. Contents include an insulated bag, a cooling towel, a digital room thermometer, reusable wearable ice packs, misters, a map of New Westminster’s cooling facilities, and educational materials such as the Prepared BC: Extreme Heat Preparedness Guide and multilingual posters and how-to guides. A voluntary feedback form is included for participants.
- Insulated bag — preserves cooling items or cold packs for longer
- Digital room thermometer — helps residents monitor indoor temperatures
- Cooling towel and wearable ice packs — personal, low-energy cooling options
- Informational materials — safety guidance and locations of municipal cooling resources
A small table helps summarise the kit components and their intended purpose.
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Digital room thermometer | Track indoor heat levels |
| Cooling towel / wearable ice packs | Provide immediate personal cooling without electricity |
| Insulated bag / misters | Extend cooling duration and offer relief |
| Maps and guides | Point to municipal cooling centres and safety advice |
Local context and next steps
New Westminster’s pilot recognises that there is no single solution to keeping renters safe during heat events. The city’s report to council cites research recommending a suite of cooling, safety and education measures, rather than reliance on one approach. By prioritising items that are low-energy and easy to use, staff aim to help those living in buildings without central air conditioning or other building-level cooling options.
The pilot is city-funded and designed to be low-barrier: kits are offered directly to tenants rather than requiring building owner participation. Participants will be asked to provide voluntary feedback, and staff will compile outcomes to inform potential future actions or expansions of the program.
As communities across British Columbia contend with longer and more intense heat events, municipal responses such as New Westminster’s Stay Cool pilot illustrate local efforts to adapt public-health measures to housing realities. The results of the pilot will be important for shaping whether the city broadens support to more buildings or explores additional building-scale interventions.
For now, the arrival of the kits represents an immediate, practical step by the city to reduce heat-related risk for vulnerable renters this summer.
