A Retrofit Economy that Cuts Pollution and Creates Jobs

Our homes work hard to keep us comfortable from -30 degrees Celsius in the winter to over 30 degrees in the summer. And that can take a lot of energy. The more energy efficient we can make our homes and buildings, the lower our monthly bills are and the less we pollute.

That’s why we are helping Canadians improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy bills, providing grants of up to $5,000 for home retrofits and moving forward on a plan to make interest-free loans of up to $40,000 available.

To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, we have to retrofit almost every building in Canada – about 10 million structures. This presents a real opportunity to kickstart a vibrant retrofit economy, with good middle class jobs in all our communities.

A re-elected Liberal government will:

  • Launch a National Net-Zero Emissions Building Strategy that, in collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments, and municipalities, will chart a path to net-zero emissions from buildings by 2050 with ambitious milestones along the way.
  • Accelerate the national net-zero emissions model building code for adoption in 2025.
  • Accelerate the transition from fossil fuel-based heating systems to electrification through incentives and standards, including investing $250 million to help low-income Canadians get off home-heating oil.
  • Ensure new home owners have information on the energy efficiency of the home they are considering to buy by requiring EnerGuide labeling of homes at the time of sale.
  • Create a Low-Carbon Building Materials Innovation Hub to work directly with entrepreneurs, municipalities, provinces and territories, and Indigenous governments to ensure Canadian innovations are supported, scaled and deployed within our buildings and construction sector.
  • Launch a community-led net-zero homes initiative that supports projects that pursue multiple concurrent retrofits in a community or neighbourhood, to reduce overall costs. This initiative will be modeled on the Dutch “Energiesprong” program.

To stimulate the scale of investment necessary to retrofit all of Canada’s buildings, a re-elected Liberal government will commit to increasing investments in the buildings sector.