With election day fast approaching, voters might be interested in knowing our political parties’ plans around green building issues. In brief, this is what the major parties are promising.
The Liberals
The Liberal Party platform includes these plans to promote sustainable building and help Canada achieve its goal of going net-zero by 2050:
- Continue providing grants up to $5,000 for residential energy efficiency retrofits
- Interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for “deep retrofits”
- Launch a National Net-Zero Emissions Building Strategy
- Develop a national net-zero emissions building code by 2025
- Incentivize transitions from fossil fuel-based heating systems, including earmarking $250 million “to help low-income Canadians get off home-heating oil”
- Require EnerGuide labeling for homes going up for sale
- Create a Low-Carbon Building Materials Innovation Hub
- Invest in “sustainable, low-carbon building materials” and forestry jobs through the Forest Industry Transformation program
- Launch a community-led net-zero homes initiative modeled on the Dutch “Energiesprong” program
The Conservatives
The Conservative Party platform offers plans “to kick-start building emissions reductions by 2030 and achieve significant, broad-scale reductions in building emissions by 2050.” They say they will:
- Accelerate the deployment of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology in the energy sector through tax credits
- Facilitate Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC), “a model that involves the private sector in financing and implementing retrofits and then being paid back through savings”
- Promote ESPC for public buildings
- Develop a Net Zero Foundations program to support the development of net-zero building technologies, codes and standards
- Develop a Residential Building Retrofit Initiative that will include giving homeowners “access to programs and information”
Get the Green Building Project Checklist
Use this handy checklist on your next project to keep track of all the ways you can make your home more energy-efficient and sustainable.
The NDP
The NDP platform says the NDP will implement an “ambitious” building retrofit program that includes:
- Retrofitting all buildings in Canada by 2050
- Offering low-interest loans for home energy efficiency upgrades
- Improving the National Building Code such that by 2025 “every new building built in Canada is net-zero”
The Green Party
The Green Party’s platform states that they will do the following to help Canada meet its net-zero targets:
- Develop a national renewable energy electricity grid
- Ensure that 100 percent of Canadian electricity is produced from renewable sources by 2030
- Implement a national program to retrofit existing residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings across the nation
- “Support agencies and institutions” carrying out green retrofits
- Change the national building code, mandating that all new construction and major renovations meet net-zero standards by 2030
Election Day is Monday, September 20—remember to get out and vote!
Image credit: ishmael n. daro
