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Expanding the electricity system with fixed-cost infrastructure is a recipe for higher costs and more pollution. Canada should instead focus on getting more value from the existing grid.

Though the 2026 P.E.I. budget’s cuts appears to signal less focus on climate action and energy savings, continued funding for home insulation rebates and other support programs could still help Islanders.

After the Liberal Party adopted a resolution declaring energy efficiency as a nation-building project, Brendan Haley called on the federal government to consider energy efficiency as a timely and beneficial project.

The buildings sector is Toronto’s most polluting. To help the city reach its climate and affordability targets, the city must focus on building emission performance standards, says Corey Diamond, executive director.

Ottawa is modernizing the Energy Efficiency Act. Sarah Riddell, policy research associate, outlines how to bring the act into the 21st century.

The federal government’s closure of the Greener Home Loan will reduce a key support middle-income Canadians have in reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Retrofitting existing homes and buildings strengthens the economy while cutting emissions, accelerates housing delivery while lowering costs, and builds a skilled workforce.

The fact that this new program would start in mid-2025 “could leave both energy customers and those retrofit businesses ready to do the work in the lurch,” said Brendan Haley, policy director at Efficiency Canada, in an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer.

A new report released by Efficiency Canada notes existing voluntary measures used by individuals and some municipalities to reduce emissions from buildings in Canada have been unsuccessful.

Brendan Haley, the policy director for the think-tank Efficiency Canada, said in an interview that it will be important to engage local utilities and community organizations in directly reaching out to potential recipients and building trust.

“Abrupt cancellations and starts and stops are incredibly damaging both to industry and to customers who have to navigate this,” said Brendan Haley, policy director at Efficiency Canada.

Illustrating the need to get serious about electrification, Efficiency Canada found that rigorous application of building codes, with no mandate to electrify by 2025, would still raise annual emissions by 10.4 Mt per year by the end of this decade.