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Federal Funding to CHBA to Support Energy-Efficient Home Construction and Renovations across Canada

May 29, 2023 - Ottawa, ON     Joint News Release with Natural Resources Canada

Creating more climate-resilient homes and supporting job creation across sectors is critical to strengthening the economy while building a more sustainable future for generations to come.

Today, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced $1.3 million in funding to CHBA over five years to accelerate the uptake of innovative technologies for both new housing and the retrofit of existing homes.

The Parliamentary Secretary also highlighted the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s (CHBA) workshops that strengthen energy-efficient home construction and renovation across Canada.

CHBA has held more than 20 successful forums and workshops since 2021, based on NRCan’s successful Local Energy Efficiency Partnership (LEEP) workshops, with over 960 participants. Moving forward, CHBA will continue to work closely with local and provincial Home Builders’ Associations to expand and deliver over 130 forums and workshops in strategic markets across Canada.

These federally-supported workshops are accelerating the uptake of innovative technologies in the construction or renovation of highly efficient houses, while removing barriers to adopting these technologies and improving supply chains across the sector. These efficiency initiatives also help to drive down costs for residents.

This funding builds on a suite of ongoing initiatives related to greener homes and buildings. The Government of Canada is taking ambitious climate action by supporting initiatives to drive down emissions and improve energy efficiency.
The Government of Canada continues to support Canadians in making their homes more energy-efficient to save on their monthly energy bills, fight climate change and support good middle-class jobs.

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Quotes

“I was pleased to announce support for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s work to accelerate energy efficient construction and climate-smart retrofits across Canada. Through the upcoming green buildings strategy alongside our suite of investments in modernizing electricity and enhancing sustainable supply chains, the Government of Canada is helping communities advance to a sustainable future while creating good-paying jobs for skilled workers in the building trades.”

Julie Dabrusin
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“CHBA has been proudly supporting NRCan’s LEEP program for more than 10 years. LEEP’s builder- and renovator-led model has proven successful at accelerating the adoption and deployment of emerging technologies. LEEP takes a local approach to solving high-performance housing needs, bringing together industry professionals, energy advisors, manufacturers and suppliers, and building officials to find and implement solutions that make sense for their region. CHBA looks forward to delivering forums and workshops, based on LEEP, in partnership with our provincial and local counterparts, in order to support builders and renovators in finding and trialing more affordable and resilient ways to build low-energy housing.”
Kevin Lee
CEO, Canadian Home Builders’ Association

Quick Facts

  • CHBA has been “the voice of Canada’s residential construction industry” since 1943, with 8,500 member companies, including home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers and service professionals.
  • Funding for this initiative is provided by NRCan’s Office of Energy Efficiency through the Green Infrastructure Fund, which seeks to reduce energy use and emissions in the building sector and drive down the cost of net-zero-ready construction.
  • The buildings sector is the third-largest source of emissions in Canada. The Government of Canada is taking decisive action to support industries and organizations that are helping to accelerate the adoption of technologies and approaches to support a net-zero future.
  • In January 2023, a call for proposals for the Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF) was launched to support provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments and stakeholders in adopting and enforcing the codes needed to fight climate change and improve resiliency from coast to coast to coast.
  • In February 2023, calls for applications were announced for the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) and the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program (GNPP), two new initiatives designed to accelerate building retrofits in support of Canada’s forthcoming Green Buildings Strategy.

Related Information

Contacts

Natural Resources Canada
Media Relations
343-292-6100
media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Keean Nembhard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Natural Resources
613-323-7892
keean.nembhard@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca

Canadian Home Builders’ Association
Media Relations
media@chba.ca