B.C. remains one of the only provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada that doesn’t have Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) enabling legislation, which allows for the creation of building efficiency retrofit and climate resiliency improvements through local government financing programs. PACE programs allow home and building owners to implement critical upgrades that can decrease home energy costs and reduce health and safety impacts related to severe weather, while advancing the retrofit market. The B.C. government should immediately begin the work to implement PACE enabling legislation in 2026.
Recommendations
Include PACE in Budget 2026
Following the review of CleanBC in the fall of 2025, implementing PACE legislation should be included in Budget 2026 as an action to ensure climate and housing resiliency targets are met and that the tools to bring in private capital and non-government investment are available.
Convene a task force on program design
Bring together a task force to learn from the experiences of local governments who have piloted PACE programs and provided on-bill financing, and utilities and financial institutions that offer home retrofit loans and financing.
Background
Report: Property assessed clean energy in Canada
Backgrounder: Property assessed clean energy enabling legislation
