The government of Canada announced it has launched two new initiatives designed to accelerate building retrofits: the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) and the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program (GNPP).

Buildings and homes are estimated to be the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, accounting for approximately 13 per cent of the country’s emissions. For aging assets, deep retrofits provide an extensive overhaul of a building’s systems. Measures may include: significantly reconfiguring the interior, replacing the roof, adding or rearranging windows for increased daylight, replacing the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system with a renewable technology like a ground-source heat pump, among other measures. Deep retrofits typically save at least 50 per cent in energy consumption, reduce utility costs and operating expenses and may also include measures to improve resiliency and adaptation to climate change.

“Retrofitting Canada’s buildings stock provides us with the opportunity to make communities more resilient to climate-related impacts while reducing emissions and utility bills, increasing energy efficiency and creating good-paying jobs in construction and maintenance,” said the Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Natural Resources. “The government of Canada opened a call for applications for projects that will enable retrofits in the buildings sector.”

The Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative 

The $200-million Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative will invest in projects that support the development of deep retrofits in commercial, institutional or mid- or high-rise multi-unit residential buildings across Canada. Selected projects will establish and collect deep retrofit projects, guide building owners in the process of developing and implementing specific retrofit projects, identify available funding and financing for specific deep retrofit projects, and conduct capacity building activities, such as developing or implementing new, standardized, or replicable methods for deep retrofits.

This call for applications is open to organizations including non-profits, private firms, civil society, municipalities, provinces and territories, and Indigenous organizations and groups. While this DRAI call for applications will remain open until April 28, 2023. applications from Indigenous organizations will be accepted on an ongoing basis until March 31, 2025, or until funding is fully distributed.

Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program

Based on the Dutch “Energiesprong” model, which found savings in decarbonizing multiple buildings at once using prefabricated, panelized approaches, the $35.5-million Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program will support the development of integrated approaches to deep energy retrofits such as upgrading building walls and insulation or upgrading space heating equipment.

The first phase of the program will support regional market development teams (MDTs) in preparing scalable deep energy retrofit plans for their communities. MDTs can convene and coordinate supply-side and demand-side actors to broker aggregated deep energy retrofit projects, find solutions to regional gaps and barriers, and drive market transformation in their regions.

This call for proposals is open to organizations including non-profits, private firms, and Indigenous organizations and groups. Successful applicants could receive contributions of up to $1 million per project. The call for proposals under Phase Two of the program is expected to launch by the summer of 2023. This will support demonstration projects in up to six communities, targeting clusters of low-rise housing (at least 100 units). These proposals will explore innovative and cost-effective pathways for more affordable and efficient building renovations. The Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program’s call for proposals will remain open until April 5, 2023.

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