Government of Canada supports energy-saving retrofits in Nova Scotia

Sept. 6, 2023 – The Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are investing $500,000 in decarbonizing the building sector through the Green Municipal Fund’s (GMF) Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative.

The funding will directly support New Dawn Enterprises Ltd.’s, a non-profit enterprise, ambitious energy-saving retrofit of 20 homes in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

The homes are located on the former property of the Department of National Defense and will soon see several upgrades including to the heating, cooling and water systems, as well as improvements to insulation and air sealing.

The investment will also allow the Pine Tree Park community to install a ground-level solar panel system. The “solar garden”, in combination with the retrofits, will substantially lower energy-related costs for residents, many of whom are renting below median market prices.

The Government of Canada provided the Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative $300 million as part of a $950-million expansion of FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in Budget 2019 to help retrofit existing units for higher energy performance or build new affordable housing in line with net-zero standards.

Since its launch in May 2020, the initiative has approved funding for 122 projects, representing more than 24,500 units.