Formed in 2005, the Centre for Natural Hazard Research (CNHR) was the first scientifically based, natural hazard research facility in western Canada. The mandate of the CNHR is to conduct innovative research on geophysical processes that are a threat to the population and economic infrastructure of Canada. The Centre has a western Canada focus but the research findings and developed methodologies will be applicable to the whole of Canada and to the international community.

The Centre for Natural Hazard Research consists of collaborators from a wide range of disciplines and institutions and is physically located in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Burnaby Mountain Campus of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

A key element of CNHR is the inclusion of public policy research on how to effectively transfer the results of scientific research to the people who need and can use it. By integrating physical science with social policy research, CNHR aims to lead the way in making Canada more resilient to natural disasters.