Regulatory cooperation

Harmonizing energy efficiency standards

The Government of Canada is committed to harmonizing energy efficiency standards within the country and with our international partners when possible and appropriate to reduce or avoid unnecessary barriers to the trade of energy efficient equipment.

1. Federal-provincial-territorial cooperation

The federal government and the provincial governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have been cooperating on regulatory development since their respective regulations were put into effect in the nineties.

To enhance coordination efforts in those spaces where working together can deliver more than unilateral actions by individual jurisdictions, during 2022 and 2023, representatives from the governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada collaborated in the development of a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Cooperation Framework under the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT). In the summer of 2024, the Framework and a final report (pdf) were approved by the RCT. The Framework was also endorsed by most of the provinces and territories.

The Framework will be put into practice by the implementation of annual plans. The 2024 annual plan was approved with the Framework, and it is being implemented by the provinces and territories interested in participating.

The expected outcomes of implementing the Framework are the averting of unintended regulatory divergences, seizing opportunities to support provincial and territorial energy or capacity saving targets and driving further the reduction of energy use, green house gas emissions and the energy cost for businesses and consumers.

The RCT was established by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). It is a federal-provincial-territorial body that oversees the process to align regulatory frameworks across all jurisdictions and reduces barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility within Canada.

2. Canada-U.S. regulatory cooperation

Canada and the United States share a joint commitment to strong regulatory cooperation and promoting economic competitiveness, while maintaining and improving standards for health, safety and environmental protection.

The Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) was established in 2011 to increase regulatory coordination between Canada and the United States with the aim of reducing costs for businesses and consumers in both countries.

This relationship was reaffirmed in June 2021, when Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the U.S. DOE signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Natural Resources of Canada and the Department of Energy of the United States of America Concerning Cooperation on Energy, which acknowledges that both countries would collaborate on new and updated energy efficiency and testing standards.

Under the RCC, Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy have published a Regulatory Partnership Statement and Annual Work Plan as part of a commitment to better align Canadian and U.S. energy efficiency standards.

The Regulatory Partnership Statement (document is bilingual) (PDF, 154 KB) formalizes the relationship between the two departments. It defines the scope of cooperation, identifies the senior executives who will manage the Statement and specifies annual joint meetings where stakeholders can provide input and work plans can be approved.

Work plans

The Annual Work Plan describes key project elements, such as deliverables and outcomes. It will be updated annually in consultation with stakeholders at annual joint meetings.

• 2019-2020 Annual Work Plan (published August 21, 2020)
• 2016-17 Annual Work Plan (document is bilingual) (PDF, 224 KB) (Published July 15, 2016)
• 2015-16 Annual Work Plan (document is bilingual) (PDF, 68 KB) (Published May 30, 2015)