Our Impact
Efficiency Canada’s mission is to see Canada using energy efficiency to its fullest potential. This means maximizing the benefits of energy efficiency resulting in a sustainable environment, a productive economy, and a just and equitable society.
We are the only organization doing this work in Canada.
Since launching in November 2018, we have seen our community and commitments towards energy efficiency grow tremendously.
We continue to use research to push for policy change that improves the livelihoods of Canadians. The timeline below shows some of this impact.
social media followers
pieces of media coverage
actions taken by our network to advance political leadership on energy efficiency
Efficiency Canada impact timeline
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There has been increased momentum for municipal action, such as the development of Building Performance Standards across Canada.
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The Codes Acceleration Fund, which Efficiency Canada has advocated for, was recapitalized for a second time by the Government of Canada.
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The Government of Canada committed to introducing a regulatory framework that will allow the phase-out of the installation of oil heating systems in new construction, as well as modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act and sun-set ENERGY STAR®️ specifications for central air conditioners.
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$1.5 billion in federal funding was committed for low income energy efficiency and a commitment to work with provinces and existing programming.
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Policymakers credited Efficiency Canada’s advocacy and research in the launch of the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program. The grant provides eligible homeowners with funding for the purchase and installation of a heat pump, electrical upgrades required for installation, and the safe removal of the oil tank. It covers costs up-front, removing a major barrier that makes existing federal programs inaccessible to low-to-moderate income Canadians.
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The Government of Canada launched the Green Industrial Facilities and Manufacturing Program to expand Industrial Energy Management. Efficiency Canada has listed this as a federal priority since the 2020 provincial policy scorecard.
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Efficiency Canada has long-advocated for a Net-Zero Code Acceleration Fund to support activities like studies on costs and compliance, and capacity building in building trades and municipalities. Canada launched a call for proposals for the Codes Acceleration Fund — $100M to help provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments and stakeholders decarbonize the buildings sector.
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Following the release of Efficiency Canada’s municipal guides for action on building codes, green development standards (new buildings) and building performance standards (existing buildings) quickly became a major policy tool for municipal action.
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Efficiency Canada published Canada’s Climate Retrofit Mission Report, which called for the creation of market development teams to coordinate large-scale retrofits. The report has influenced the federal government’s creation of the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program and the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative. The Canada Green Building Strategy discussion paper also included recommendations from the report, including adopting a market transformation approach and setting a goal to retrofit 3-5% of buildings annually.
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Efficiency Canada launched the Career Hub, a one-stop-shop to help people learn about, and start, a career in the energy efficiency sector. Since launching, more than 41,000 visitors have used the Hub to discover jobs, events, webinars, and career paths.
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The federal government adopted four of the five recommendations made in our 2021 Canadian Energy Efficiency Scorecard, including accelerating the adoption of net-zero building codes and at-scale building retrofits.
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Budget 2021 provided $4.4 billion for a new loan program to help homeowners and affordable housing providers complete deep home retrofits. This included the Greener Homes Loan for homeowners, which provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 per household. Additional funding for low-income energy efficiency was announced in Budget 2022, leading to the Greener Affordable Housing initiative.
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Efficiency Canada advocated for the concept of “treating buildings as infrastructure”, leading to $2 billion in financing for deep retrofits through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
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Efficiency Canada joined the Resilient Recovery Task Force calling for significant investment in energy efficiency. This led to $6.1 billion in funding as part of Canada’s economic recovery.
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Influenced by Efficiency Canada’s report on Strengthening Canada’s Building Code Process, the federal ministers were given a mandate to ensure Canada’s building code process was tied to Canada’s net-zero by 2050 commitment.
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The federal Liberal and NDP parties released a “Supply and Confidence Agreement”, outlining key legislative priorities. The agreement includes a provision on boosting energy efficiency support for low income Canadians, long called for by Efficiency Canada.
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Efficiency Canada continued to drive provincial policy action, including major investments and commitments announced in Ontario and New Brunswick.
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Canada’s first annual Energy Efficiency Scorecard is released. It benchmarks Canadian provinces and territories across 54 separate metrics, such as energy savings from public utility programs and building code adoption.
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Inspired by celebrations in the United States, we worked with American organizers to bring Energy Efficiency Day to Canada. The event celebrates workers from coast-to-coast who help homes and businesses cut energy waste, save money, and reduce emissions. Since 2019, more than 200 local governments, universities, organizations, utilities, and corporations have participated.