Progress On Low-Income Energy Efficiency In Canada
Efficiency Canada Milestones
The following timeline covers energy efficiency progress and milestones achieved through Efficiency Canada’s work, with a focus on energy poverty and low-income energy efficiency. This timeline is non-exhaustive. This timeline was developed in relation to Efficiency Canada’s work on ensuring energy efficiency reaches and benefits all Canadians. Any possible mistakes, omissions, or errors are unintentional.
To view all low-income milestones, click here.
2018
- In May of 2018, Efficiency Canada launched, becoming the national voice for an energy efficient economy, combining engineering, advocacy, and research to influence public policy (Source).
2018
- In response to “Bill 4 – An Act Respecting the Preparation of a Climate Change Plan”, which would introduce the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, Efficiency Canada wrote a submission to the Government of Ontario that discussed the benefits of energy efficiency for achieving significant and low-cost greenhouse gas reductions while creating jobs and improving economic competitiveness. The submission would inform energy efficiency best practices for Ontario’s new climate change plan, including work to lower the burden electricity costs can place on Ontario consumers (Source).
2018
- In December of 2018, Efficiency Canada wrote a submission to the office of the Premier of Nova Scotia in support of renewing the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, 2007 (Source), which would become the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, 2021 (Source). The Act would support, strengthen, and set targets for energy efficiency programming while prioritizing equitable access and benefits for low income and marginalized Nova Scotians (Source).
2019
- In a 2019 Federal Budget submission (Source), Efficiency Canada called for a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy to build Canada’s low-carbon future. Part 2 of the 2019 Federal Budget titled “Affordable Electricity Bills and a Clean Economy” outlined plans to reduce energy costs by increasing energy efficiency for Canadians (Source).
2019
- In December of 2018, Efficiency Canada wrote a submission in support of Amendment 15 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations (Source). Proposed amendments to the Regulations were revised and divided into two separate amendments, Amendment 15 and Amendment 16 (Source). Amendment 16 was published in June of 2019. It would update energy efficiency and testing standards for various residential, commercial, and industrial products, including air conditioners and heat pumps (Source). High energy consuming products would be removed from the market, thereby helping Canadians conserve energy and save on energy costs.
2020
- In September 2020, the Ontario government announced a 4-year electricity demand management framework starting in January 2021 that would replace the expiring Interim Framework. The Framework would be delivered by IESO and include programming for income-eligible households that would provide energy saving measures and installation of measures at no cost to the participant (Source). This was influenced in part by a joint open letter led by Efficiency Canada and 59 signing organizations that called for the extension of Ontario conservation and demand management (CDM) programs (Source).
2021
- In a 2021 Federal Budget submission (Source), Efficiency Canada called for funding to expand municipal and provincial energy efficiency portfolios, which included support for low and moderate income Canadians most affected by a post-pandemic recession (Source). Budget 2021 introduced new energy efficiency related funds, including $4.4 billion in interest-free loans for retrofits, with some funding dedicated to low-income energy efficiency (Source).
2021
- In March 2021, Efficiency Canada hosted a virtual rally featuring a series of speakers across Canada who shared the challenges of living in energy poverty and working for change (Source). This was part of Efficiency Canada’s larger campaign for energy poverty, which included a sign on letter in support of federal funding for low income energy efficiency programs in the 2021 Budget (Source).
2021
- In May 2021, NRCan published a technical bulletin on amending standards for central air conditioners and heat pumps to collect stakeholder views on the requirements being considered (Source). Input would inform the development of Amendment 17 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations (Source). Efficiency Canada submitted comments in support of the new requirements to align single-phase central air conditioners and heat pumps with standards in the United States while also ensuring that standards appropriately reflect the Canadian climate (Source). Required energy efficiency reporting would provide valuable information for consumers and for utility programs to incentivize heat pumps that provide adequate cold-climate performance.
2021
- In June 2021, Efficiency Canada released the Canada’s Climate Retrofit Mission report, which outlined the scale and performance of building retrofits, and policy actions that are needed to confront the climate emergency. The report also discussed systemic impacts that a large-scale retrofit program could have on health, indoor environmental quality, in reducing poverty, and in creating resilience against climate impacts (Source). Ideas from the report were included in two federal election platforms in 2021 (Source).
2021
- In July 2021, Efficiency Canada wrote a submission (Source) in response to the priorities laid out in Building the Canada We Want in 2050 Engagement Paper on the National Infrastructure Assessment, which detailed the benefits of efficient buildings, including better health outcomes and reductions in energy poverty (Source). Efficiency Canada’s comments would help inform the Building Pathways to 2050: Moving Forward on the National Infrastructure Assessment report and next steps for the National Infrastructure Assessment (Source).
2022
- In March 2022, Efficiency Canada published the Efficiency for All report, which detailed how federal investment in provincial low-income energy efficiency programming could help achieve net-zero emissions and reduce energy poverty (Source).
2022
- In a 2022 Federal Budget submission, Efficiency Canada called for funding to support low-income energy efficiency, net-zero building codes, and a scale-up in building retrofits (Source). In February 2022, Efficiency Canada sent a joint letter signed by 134 energy and anti-poverty organizations, supporters, and practitioners from across Canada to Ministers Freeland, Wilkinson, and Guilbeault calling for the Federal Government to include funding for energy efficiency for lower income households in the 2022 budget (Source). The 2022 Federal Budget provided an additional $458.5 million in funding for the low-income stream of the Canada Greener Homes Loan program (Source).
2022
- In 2022, Efficiency Canada released their fourth annual Provincial Scorecard (Source), as well as an online policy database (Source), which included qualitative descriptions of the various policy contexts across Canada, including low-income programs. The Scorecard and database would be used to inform and inspire leadership among policymakers and energy efficiency professionals.
2022
- In September 2022, Efficiency Canada published a response (Source) to the Canada Green Buildings Strategy Discussion Paper (Source), which highlighted gaps within the current plan pertaining to low-income energy efficiency. Efficiency Canada urged the federal government to make energy poverty the focus of the strategy by committing national support for low-income energy efficiency.
2022
- In November of 2022, Efficiency Canada wrote a submission to the Parliamentary Black Caucus calling for funding in the upcoming federal budget to support low-to-moderate income Black Canadians currently excluded from energy efficiency programs (Source). Efficiency Canada’s comments were used to inform a letter sent by the Parliamentary Black Caucus to the Minister of Finance, which urged the Canadian Government to support energy efficiency and affordability measures to improve the lives and well-being of Black Canadians who are disproportionately impacted by energy poverty (Source).
2022
- In November 2022, Enbridge Gas Inc. announced two low-income programs under their 2023-2027 DSM Plan: the Home Winterproofing Program (Source) and the Affordable Housing Multi-Residential program (Source). This was influenced in part by Efficiency Canada’s joint submission in 2018 to the Ontario Energy Board’s Post-2020 Demand Side Management Framework for natural gas distributors consultation (Source), which called for natural gas low-income programs across the province for all eligible customers (Source).
2023
- Efficiency Canada wrote a submission for the 2023 Federal Budget cycle calling for an investment of $2 billion dollars to support a low-income energy efficiency strategy to relieve 4.5 million Canadians struggling to meet their home energy needs (Source). This was part of a broader low-income campaign, which included a joint open letter involving 136 energy and anti-poverty organizations (Source), and advocacy tactics (Source) to encourage constituents to contact their MPs to support low-income Canadians in their riding in the upcoming budget (Source).
2023
- In June 2023, Efficiency Canada hosted the first ever Evidence Week Canada (Source). Politicians and staff were invited to meet with expert panelists one-on-one to discuss key issue areas related to Canada’s Green Buildings Strategy (GBS) (Source). The event was organized to inform policy and decision makers ahead of the upcoming GBS.
2023
- In July, Efficiency Canada’s policy team released the Energy Efficiency in Rental Housing report, which examines how governments can develop public policies to improve energy efficiency while also protecting and enhancing tenant rights. The report outlines challenges and reiterates the importance of improving the energy efficiency of Canada’s private rental stock to reduce emissions and to maintain healthy, comfortable homes for all Canadians (Source).