By David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca
Monica Curtis of the Pembina Institute wants us to think differently about nation-building. In an era of political instability, energy transition and the climate crisis, she says what Canada needs is a Renovation Wave to retrofit buildings to be super energy-efficient, use less energy, and make life more affordable for homeowners.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced his nation-building bill C-5 to fast-track nation-building mega projects, people’s minds seemed to gravitate to energy, transportation, and utility corridors.
“We do recognize that Canada is in a critical moment, and we need a sense of urgency as a country that we haven’t seen in generations,” says Curtis. Curtis has worked for utility companies, is an expert in energy efficiency, and even helped design PACE programs in the US to help building owners retrofit their buildings.
“Great big single projects and megaprojects have their place, and they are important, but we do want to make sure that we’re thinking about nation-building as more than megaprojects. So those smaller, less time-intensive projects that can have more direct impact on a broader range of Canadians,” she says.
Curtis notes people rarely look carefully at the main goals of Bill C5, also called the Building Canada Act.
Building Canada Act (Bill C5) Criteria
The bill aims to fast-track projects that aim to:
- strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience, and security
- provide economic or other benefits to Canada
- have a high likelihood of successful execution
- advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples
- contribute to clean growth and climate objectives.
“Retrofitting buildings is the perfect example of that. It meets all of the criteria that we are trying to achieve with nation-building projects,” she says.
She says retrofitting buildings will contribute to energy security, generate plenty of local economic development and jobs, and make life more affordable.
And by increasing our capacity for high-performing energy retrofits, we will develop expertise, products, and know-how that could be exported.
In their report, Pembina says a renovation wave could generate 200,000 jobs and $48 billion in economic activity per year and save millions on health care and energy costs.
“Thinking about it as a return on investment. We see $7 of GDP growth for every dollar invested in building retrofits,” says Curtis.
Not only would this increase energy security and affordability for Canadians, but the initiative would also build the kinds of expertise and businesses we need for the future. And it takes direct aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling the climate crisis.
“Buildings represent over 30% of emissions in Canada,” says Curtis. Together with transportation and industry, these are the largest sources of emissions.
If we hope to reduce emissions, it’s important to begin taking action now since “80% of the buildings that exist today will still be in existence and in use by 2050. So retrofitting our buildings is an important contribution to [reducing] emissions.”
Curtis says this sort of work could reduce soaring demand for new electricity and offset up to “15% of load growth.”
The idea is to incentivize home and building owners to spend $80 billion on electrification and energy efficiency, which ironically will save them money as well as dramatically improve the comfort and quality of buildings.
Retrofits are also beneficial for the local economy, as most of the work would be done there.
Pembina’s report is entitled “Canada’s Renovation Wave: A plan for jobs and climate.”
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