In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, this public statement of environmental and economic effects has been prepared for the initiatives in support of the Canada Greener Buildings Strategy.
Summary
The Canada Green Buildings Strategy, published in July 2024, introduced the Government of Canada’s vision and next steps to improve energy efficiency in Canada’s homes and buildings, which will in turn cut energy bills for Canadians and support good jobs from coast to coast to coast. Natural Resources Canada led the development of the Canada Green Buildings Strategy and is responsible for implementing several of its initiatives that received funding in Budget 2024, including:
- launching the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program
- implementing a National Approach to Home Labelling
- renewing critical buildings programming, including advancing net-zero code development priorities, enhancing data collection tools and federal surveys, and supporting building sector adoption of best practices in energy management
The Canada Green Buildings Strategy and its initiatives will help Canada deliver on its commitments to environmental protection and housing affordability, and was informed by consultation with the public, with Indigenous Partners, and with industry stakeholders.
The proposal also sought one-time authority for the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources to sign an amended contribution agreement with Efficiency One to administer the existing Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program in Nova Scotia.
The Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment found that the overall environmental impacts of the Initiatives in Support of the Canada Green Buildings Strategy are likely to be net positive.
Strategic environmental analysis
The strategic environmental analysis undertaken for the initiatives in support of the Canada Green Buildings Strategy determined that this proposal will enable direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Direct reductions will result from home retrofits under the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, while indirect reductions are expected through:
- supporting the adoption of ambitious building codes and best practices in energy management
- implementing a national approach to home energy labelling
- developing a robust heat pump market in Nova Scotia
The Canada Green Buildings Strategy also contains several measures which will support climate resilience in the buildings sector as well as the health and well-being of Canadians. Home retrofits (including the installation of heat pumps) and supporting the adoption of ambitious buildings codes may make buildings more resilient to the impacts of climate change, as well as safer and more comfortable for building inhabitants facing more variable temperatures. Resiliency will also be indirectly supported by providing homeowners with information about the climate resiliency of their home through labelling.
Only minor and temporary negative environmental effects are anticipated, such as impacts of manufacturing and transporting new materials for retrofits. This will be mitigated by following best practices and established standards, including relating to construction and retrofits.
The overall effectiveness of this program may be vulnerable to climate hazards. For example, prolonged adverse weather events could delay implementation of measures in impacted regions, and previously retrofitted buildings could be damaged by extreme weather made worse by climate change (impacting their ability to deliver the predicted benefits). No important impacts to nature or biodiversity were identified through the analysis.
Federal Sustainable Development Strategy considerations
The Canada Green Building Strategy and its initiatives will support several goals of the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, including:
- Goal 8: Encourage inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Canada by supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy by supporting workers and the development of a sustainable finance ecosystem
- Goal 9: Foster innovation and green infrastructure in Canada through energy efficiency retrofits that increase the resiliency of buildings
- Goal 13: Take action on climate change and its impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector
Strategic economic analysis
The strategic economic analysis undertaken for the Initiatives in support of the Canada Green Buildings Strategy determined that economic impacts will be national in scale, with no particular region specifically targeted (with the exception of the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability agreement, which is specific to Nova Scotia).
Due to the nature of the proposal, the impacts will be primarily focused on the buildings and related sectors – including construction – with some impacts in other sectors such as the industrial sector. Short-term sectoral impacts are expected to be high, with nil or uncertain impacts in the long-term. The national economic impacts are expected to be low in the short-term, and nil or uncertain in the long-term.