April 6, 2022 Ottawa, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
Helping people make their homes more energy-efficient fights climate change and creates good jobs, all while helping homeowners save on their monthly energy bills. That's why the Government of Canada launched the Canada Greener Homes Grant initiative in May 2021 to help up to 700,000 Canadian homeowners upgrade their homes.
Today, Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a total investment of over $4.2 million for eight organizations. This funding will help recruit, train and mentor up to 690 new energy advisors across Canada and upskill up to 110 existing ones. It is part of a greater $10-million call for proposals to train up to an additional 2,000 energy advisors.
The investments include:
● $1.15 million to SaskPower in Regina, Saskatchewan;
● $681,000 to the Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology in Thunder Bay, Ontario;
● $675,000 to NorQuest College in Edmonton, Alberta;
● $624,000 to the Government of Yukon in Whitehorse, Yukon;
● $359,000 to the Canadian Institute for Energy Training in Toronto, Ontario;
● $300,000 to Ecotrust Canada in Prince Rupert, British Columbia;
● $227,000 to EnviroCentre in Ottawa, Ontario; and
● $190,000 to the Ecofitt Corporation in Newfoundland and Labrador.
These federal investments will support the delivery of energy advisor training programs to prepare candidates, including those from under-represented groups, to pass the exams required to become energy advisors. They will also provide practical hands-on training and mentorship opportunities to candidates and newly registered energy advisors.
Energy advisors are the backbone of the Canada Greener Homes Grant. To ensure retrofits improve a home's energy efficiency and homeowners know about their retrofit options, an energy advisor must conduct a pre-retrofit and post-retrofit EnerGuide home energy evaluation. The Greener Homes initiative's immense popularity - with over 180,000 homeowners applying in just under a year - has led to a major demand for new energy advisors.
According to the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency measures could get the world one-third of the way toward the Paris 2030 targets and help us reach net-zero emissions by 2050. With buildings, including our homes, accounting for 18 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, retrofitting existing homes - with the help of highly trained energy advisors - is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
