Our homes and buildings are important to Canadians' well-being, to Canada's economy, and as a space to gather. They are also Canada's third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are investing in decarbonizing the building sector.
Today, Jaime Battiste, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and MP for Sydney - Victoria, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Scott Pearce, President of FCM, announced $500,000 through the Green Municipal Fund's (GMF) Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative to support New Dawn Enterprises Ltd.'s, a non-profit enterprise, ambitious energy-saving retrofit of 20 homes in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
The homes are located on the former property of the Department of National Defense and will soon see several upgrades including to the heating, cooling and water systems. The retrofit will also see improvements to insulation and air sealing and contribute not only to residents feeling more comfortable in their homes, but also produce energy savings of a minimum 50 per cent per home.
The investment will also allow the Pine Tree Park community to install a ground-level solar panel system. The "solar garden", in combination with the retrofits, will substantially lower energy-related costs for residents, many of whom are renting below median market prices.
Today's continued collaboration supports ambitious energy efficiency measures, addresses climate change risks, and develops skills through shared expertise, knowledge and training.
The Government of Canada provided the Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative $300 million as part of a $950-million expansion of FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in Budget 2019 to help retrofit existing units for higher energy performance or build new affordable housing in line with net-zero standards.
Since its launch in May 2020, the initiative has approved funding for 122 projects, representing more than 24,500 units. These projects help transform markets and reduce costs to meet the net-zero goal by 2050.
