Federal government invests in energy efficiency for building in Ontario

Improving energy efficiency in our communities is an important part of our toolkit to fight climate change. It will help us exceed our climate goals, lower emissions where people live and work, and provide opportunities for Canadians to be part of building a clean and prosperous future that leaves no one behind.

Today, Peter Fragiskatos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced an investment of over $2 million to three organizations that are advancing energy efficiency in buildings in Ontario.

These projects include:

• Over $1.3 million to Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, in London, to retrofit the Kestrel Court Student Residence, a 25-year-old complex, into a net zero-energy facility. Fanshawe College also contributed $1.25 million, bringing the combined project cost to more than $2.5 million.
  
  
• $365,000 to Indwell, in Woodstock, to support the construction of Blossom Park Apartments, a new, 34-unit, high-performing multi-unit residential building using the BuildSMART prefabricated envelope technology to help inform local and national net-zero energy codes. The Canada Green Building Council, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Oxford County and Passive House Canada also funded the project, bringing the total cost to more than $7.3 million.
  
  
• $350,000 to Enwave Energy Corporation, in Markham, to support the development of the Enwave Geothermal Community Energy System, which will supply low-carbon geothermal heating and cooling to 300 residential homes. The project also received financial support from City of Markham, Mattamy Homes and The Atmospheric Fund for a total project cost of $818,367.

Federal funding is being provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Infrastructure – Energy Efficient Buildings Program. This program supports improvements to the design, renovation and construction of our homes and buildings. The government is advancing the development and implementation of building codes for existing buildings and new net-zero-energy–ready buildings through research, development and demonstration projects in London and across the nation.

The Government of Canada is also developing a Green Buildings Strategy, which will create local jobs and help Canada move toward a resilient, net-zero emissions buildings sector by 2050. The Strategy will be focused on increasing the rate of building retrofits, ensuring buildings are resilient and net-zero ready from the start, and supporting systems change for the buildings sector of the future. Further engagement on the Strategy with partners such as provinces and territories, Indigenous governments and municipalities will take place before it is finalized in 2023.

Through efforts such as these, the federal government is creating sustainable jobs, building a clean energy future and charting a path toward net-zero emissions by 2050.