SECTION 03
Crisis Management
Serious workplace injury tops the list of operational threats, but country differences are striking
When asked which risks pose the greatest threat to their company's operations, 27% of North American workers rank serious workplace injury or medical emergency first (USA 27%, Canada 27%), followed closely by severe weather or natural disaster (26%), cyberattack or data breach (26%), physical security threats (25%), and pandemic or infectious disease outbreak (24%), all within a single percentage point of each other.
A serious workplace injury or medical emergency
Severe weather or natural disaster
Cyberattack or data breach
Physical security threats
Pandemic or infectious disease outbreak
The country-level picture splits clearly.
In Canada, cyberattack or data breach is the standout concern at 31%, the highest score of any risk categories in Canada and above the North American average of 26% for that category. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security identifies ransomware as the top threat to critical infrastructure, with incidents growing an average of 26% year-over-year since 2021. Recent examples include the 2023 LockBit attack on Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, a 2024 attack on London Drugs that disrupted pharmacy operations across western Canada, and a March 2025 ransomware attack on Nova Scotia Power that exposed the personal and financial data of nearly 280,000 customers.
In the USA, severe weather ranks most prominently among concerns at 28%, compared to just 23% in Canada. 2024 brought 27 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events across the country, with a combined economic toll estimated between $479 billion and $532 billion. The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires alone caused an estimated $61 billion in damages and forced over 200,000 evacuations.
Looking at the broader picture, North America stands apart from other regions on crisis risk perception. Severe weather is a much more prominent concern here at 26%, compared to 18% in UKI, 17% in the Nordics, and a global average of 19%. Cyber, by contrast, is a lower priority in North America than elsewhere, scoring well below UKI (42%), the Nordics (31%), and the global average of 32%.
Crisis plan awareness is better in the USA, but gaps remain in both countries
Across North America, 37% of workers say they understand their company's crisis management plan well, 25% know the basics, and 8% know a plan exists but are unfamiliar with its contents. North America leads other regions on this measure, ahead of UKI (30%), the Nordics (29%), and the global average (31%), but plenty of room for improvement remains.
The country split is significant: 41% of USA workers say they understand the plan well, compared to only 29% in Canada. More concerningly, 20% of USA workers and 23% of Canadian workers say they are not aware of any crisis plan at all.
Overall across North America, 21% of workers are unaware of a crisis plan. This means roughly one in five workers may walk into a crisis scenario with no understanding of what their organization expects of them. This is a significant risk exposure, particularly in sectors with high physical or environmental hazard profiles.
