Funded initiatives announced with the Canada Green Buildings Strategy

Buildings are Canada’s third largest emitter of GHG emissions, with over 96 percent of building emissions coming from space and water heating. Major changes in the building sector are underway and have the potential to create hundreds of thousands of sustainable jobs, improve energy affordability for Canadians, and better equip our communities to withstand the effects of climate change.  

The Canada Green Buildings Strategy (CGBS) is being introduced during this critical time when a renewal of the building sector is underway and sets out the Government’s vision and next steps for greener, more energy efficient and affordable homes and buildings. The Strategy outlines how the Government is taking action to drive down monthly energy bills, helping Canadians reduce their carbon emissions, and ensuring that the homes and workplaces of Canadians are protected against the increasingly harmful effects of climate change. This is all in addition to creating good-paying, sustainable jobs.   

There are many initiatives already underway to support the CGBS goals, including some of the following federally funded projects announced at the same time:  

Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF)

The Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF) will advance the Government of Canada’s action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption to fight climate change while strengthening the economy. CAF’s objectives are to accelerate the adoption and implementation of higher tiers of the national model energy codes or their equivalent, promote higher rates of compliance, and build supporting capacity. Federally funded initiatives include: 

• $859,788 in funding for the ICLEI Local Government for Sustainability to increase capacity of small to mid-sized municipalities to adopt tiered building energy performance frameworks.
• $713,900 in funding for the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals to examine how existing buildings are built in comparison to new construction requirements under the National Building Code and National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings.
• $1,401,640 in funding for the Canada Green Building Council to support existing building owners in the adoption of and compliance with the highest performance tiers of the National Energy Code for Buildings.
• $2,243,083 in funding for the Climate Challenge Network to review how actual energy consumption compares to the performance the buildings should be achieving.
• $1,462,517 in funding for the Environmental Careers Organization of Canada to provide support to Indigenous communities to help accelerate the adoption and implementation of the highest feasible energy performance building codes.
• $2,980,000 in funding for the City of Vancouver to encourage the adoption and implementation of Canada’s first embodied carbon and existing building greenhouse gas GHG emission regulations.
• $1,038,110 in funding for the Small Housing BC Society to build capacity in the Gentle Density Housing (GDH) industry.
• $1,625,571 in funding for PASSIVE HOUSE CANADA to build capacity in Canada’s manufacturing sector and enable them to deliver high-performance windows, building systems and ventilation.
• $2,517,260 in funding for the Alliance of Canadian Building Officials’ Associations to develop an online technology platform that provides access to tools, training materials, and expertise on current and future versions of high-performance energy and building codes.
• $199,100 in funding for the Municipality of Whistler to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the highest feasible energy performance tiers of the national model energy codes in Whistler.
• $2,513,010 in funding for the Canadian Home Builders Association to support market preparedness for the implementation of and compliance with the highest feasible tiers of the National Building Code (NBC).
• $120,000 in funding for the Canadian Home Builders Association of BC to support the transition and implementation of commitments made in the Province of British Columbia's (BC) CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 through education and training.
• $309,427 in funding for the University of British Columbia to support market preparedness for ambitious code adoption at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
• $82,667 in funding for the HVAC Designers of Canada to create a publicly available database so that the qualifications of HVAC Designers can be verified.
• $766,600 in Cecobois to determine the average intrinsic carbon footprint of four categories of buildings and to analyze the carbon impact of each.
• $538,730 in funding for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo to develop a Green Development Standard (GDS) for the Region of Waterloo.
• $627,400 in funding for the Government of Yukon to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the highest feasible energy performance tiers of the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) within Yukon.
• $1,443,887 in funding for the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation to expand Alberta Ecotrust’s Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX) outside of the current focus areas of Edmonton and Calgary and provide a forum for building industry stakeholders to collaborate.
• $442,422 in funding for Strathcona County to improve Strathcona County’s building permit, inspection and compliance processes to increase code compliance and facilitate future energy-efficient building code adoption.
• $2,700,000 in funding for the City of Toronto to establish emissions performance requirements for existing buildings, outlined in Toronto’s existing roadmap.
• $466,000 in funding for the City of St. John’s to conduct activities to identify an accelerated adoption schedule for the NBC 2020 and the NECB 2020 tiers in St. John’s.
• $506,375 in funding for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to develop an education-focused initiative to facilitate adoption of, and compliance with higher tiers of the model energy codes in Calgary and throughout Alberta.
• $212,500 in funding for the Town of Banff to develop capacity-building resources, tools, and approaches that support the acceleration of code adoption and compliance, specifically in mountain communities.
• $445,600 in funding for Grey County to develop and accelerate the adoption, compliance, and enforcement of a Green Development Standard (GDS) within the counties of Dufferin, Grey and Wellington.
• $6,915,025 in funding for the Government of New Brunswick to accelerate code adoption by removing barriers that exist for New Brunswick’s building officials, builders, designers, homeowners and energy efficiency professionals.
• $142,108 in funding for BILD Alberta to develop and create resources for Alberta’s residential construction industry that will support compliance with the energy tiers and requirements of the 2020 and 2025 Alberta Building Codes.

Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI)

The Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) provides funding to organizations (i.e. “retrofit accelerators”) that help building owners in the development of deep retrofits in commercial, institutional, and mid- or high-rise multi-unit residential buildings in Canada, and that drive market transformation in a given region or market segment. Federally funded initiatives include:

• $16,482,968 in funding for the ReCover Initiative to accelerate scalable deep retrofit solutions for buildings across the Atlantic provinces.
• $13,607,850 in funding for the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) to help building owners improve replicability and increase the speed and scale of deep retrofit projects in British Columbia.
• $24,898,800 in funding for Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada to advance the implementation of deep retrofit projects in class B and C commercial buildings across Canada.
• $12,629,492 in funding for SOFIAC to support the full project cycle for deep retrofits and decarbonization projects for buildings across Canada.
• $15,610,234 in funding for the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources to provide support services to advance deep retrofits in Indigenous communities in the Prairie provinces and Northwest Territories.
• $19,817,775 in funding for the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) to provide support services to building owners to increase deep retrofit projects in Quebec municipalities.
• $11,964,506 in funding for Purpose Building Inc. to accelerate the adoption of deep retrofit measures in buildings across Canada.
• $4,028,250 in Graham to support the deep retrofit sector with project development, financing, and construction expertise for projects across Ontario and the western provinces.
• $14,846,657 in funding for the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation to reduce barriers to decarbonizing existing buildings and offering deep retrofit support services for buildings in Alberta.
• $13,202,053 in funding for Toronto Atmospheric Fund to provide expert services to guide multi-unit residential building owners through the deep retrofit process in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
• $6,754,853 in funding for Saskatchewan Power Corporation (SaskPower) to provide support services to building owners to increase the implementation of deep retrofit projects in Saskatchewan.
• $9,863,200 in funding for Hydro Ottawa to provide support services to building owners to accelerate deep retrofits within the City of Ottawa.
• $13,210,958 in funding for Four Winds & Associates to provide support services to advance deep retrofits in Indigenous communities in Alberta.

Toward Net-Zero Homes and Communities Program (TNZ)

The Toward Net-Zero Homes and Communities Program (TNZ) provides funding to support the implementation of original and creative tools and methods to pursue net-zero residential building emissions by 2050, and initiatives that empower all residents to contribute to Canada’s transition to this goal of net-zero residential building emissions. Toward Net-Zero supports Indigenous, rural and remote, and under-resourced communities in their efforts to reduce residential GHG emissions. Federally funded initiatives include:

• $550,000 in funding for Eta Energy Solutions to design and construct a factory-built home as part of a proof-of concept to evaluate affordability and other impacts.
• $586,040 in funding for the First Nations Energy & Mining Society to train “Energy Champions” to support First Nations communities as they establish community energy plans.
• $100,000 in funding for the Alliance of Canadian Building Officials’ Associations (ACBOA) to design and launch a free online learning platform for anyone interested in building codes.
• $367,510 in funding for the First Nations National Building Officers Association (FNNBOA) to develop guides for the building technical requirements for northern housing.
• $77,250 in funding for Musqueam Indian Band to showcase the benefits of DER completed on two on-reserve Musqueam First Nation homes and raise awareness about EE technologies.
• $291,201 in funding for ÉcoHabitation to demonstrate affordable ways to decarbonize existing buildings while focusing on promoting EE in regional residential buildings.
• $200,000 in Fondation du Grand Montréal pour le Partenariat Climat Montréal to create a tool to help Montreal residents identify cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions to replace heating and hot water production equipment.
• $640,000 in funding for Volta Research Inc. to develop a building energy optimization design tool (web-based platform) for builders, engineers, energy advisors, and other users.
• $1,000,000 in funding for Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise (ICE) to train Indigenous communities in energy efficiency measures, community engagement workforce planning and more.
• $1,037,512 in funding for EnviroCentre to retrofit 80+ townhomes for low-income residents, demonstrating on a mass scale a Standardized Deep Package for townhouse-model homes that will lead to affordable Net-Zero ready housing.
• $1,022,120 in funding for the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology to develop and implement educational curriculum for Net-Zero buildings for post-secondary and professionals for all trades that will serve First Nations throughout Saskatchewan.
• $1,000,000 in funding for the City of Toronto to develop a program for the City of Toronto that will inform homeowners, homebuyers and renters about the carbon emissions of homes and address barriers to carbon emission reduction upgrades.
• $585,527 in funding for Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) to facilitate the Canada-wide adoption of the NBC 2020 and the NECB 2020, and the highest tiers practical, through the delivery of a series of Integrated Design Process (IDP) charrettes using a virtual platform.
• $408,780 in funding for Frog Lake First Nation to develop Net-Zero building design packages, create a database and multi-criteria, decision-making tool for optimized building material selection, and more.
• $431,080 in funding for EcoTrust Canada to facilitate a transition to Net-Zero in under-served rural communities on the British Columbia coast.
• $430,536 in funding for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to develop a four-course online and in-person DER training program to supplement the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s curriculum to address an expertise gap in the market.
• $421,918 in funding for Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement to build 7 Net-Zero ready homes in the Prairie Paddle Metis Settlement and develop sustainable EE life skills workshops for tenants and homeowners.
• $399,350 in funding for Windfall Energy Project Inc. to provide a vHEAT (Virtual Home Energy Assessment Tool) on a user web platform, that will remove knowledge barriers concerning home energy and renovations
• $361,657 in funding for the Town of New Glasgow to conduct a public housing retrofit study on 71 units to identify climate resiliency issues, determine energy efficiency upgrade plans, and propose long-term solutions to ensure accessibility for public housing in the community.
• $358,000 in funding for the City of Ottawa to develop and launch an online Retrofit Portal to provide free, tailored advice to every resident in Ottawa about how to save energy and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at home.
• $305,500 in funding for Dinjii Zhuh Solutions to address barriers to adopting energy efficiency by assisting Tetlit Zheh homeowners in reducing the amount of energy consumed in their homes.
• $285,200 in funding for the Government of PEI to produce home energy labels for 100% of homes in PEI via virtual pre-retrofit assessments in year one.
• $263,000 in funding for Turtle Island Innovations to build a prefabricated home and demonstrate a unique pressurized building envelope that eliminates air and moisture infiltration to improve energy efficiency in residential housing.
• $156,000 in funding for the City of Calgary to strengthen the capacity of The City of Calgary's Home Energy Label Program project team through procurement of external consultants to assist with digital label update and refinement.
• $132,588 in funding for Trade Winds to Success Training Society to provide Alberta’s Indigenous population with comprehensive and culturally appropriate pre-apprenticeship training programs in residential construction.
• $124,030 in funding for Efficiency Properties to develop and pilot an EnerGuide rating prediction system and work with the NS real estate industry for its implementation.
• $116,250 in funding for Barkley Project Group, Ltd. to assess and test alternatives to EnerGuide home energy labelling that may be more effective at empowering Indigenous communities to pursue deep energy efficiency retrofits.
• $107,410 in funding for Douglas (Xa’xtsa) First Nation to conduct EnerGuide assessments of twenty-six (26) homes in the Douglas (Xa’xtsa) First Nation community, review the energy consumption of the homes, and create a path forward for energy-efficient improvements and the adoption of the B.C. Energy Step Code.
• $93,500 in funding for the City of Edmonton to help decrease permit review time for energy efficient buildings, increase review consistency and to understand energy industry performance.
• $40,000 in funding for the Atoskiwin Training and Employment Centre (ATEC) to implement training for students on the fundamentals of Net-Zero, with respect to the National Building Code (NBC) 2020 and the National Energy Code for Buildings (NEBC) 2020.
• $25,000 in funding for the Corporation of the Town of Oakville to facilitate the development of training content for local contractors to enhance technical understanding of heat pumps and recommend the technology to homeowners.
• $249,950 in funding for the Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) to address the skills requirements for technicians to install and maintain air source heat pumps safely and competently for the HVAC trade.
• $300,000 in funding for the Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association to install highly energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and HVAC mechanical systems in 12 elder residential buildings for the Métis of Lac Ste Anne.