Toronto — KEVIN LOCKHART, director of the Buildings program at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the federal government’s announcement of new home energy retrofit projects across Canada:
"Today's announcement shows what’s possible when the federal government and municipalities work together to help Canadians make their homes more energy efficient, secure and affordable. As severe weather escalates across Canada, distributed energy resources – such as rooftop solar and batteries – can provide affordability, energy security and climate resilience.
“The federal electrification strategy can’t be only about building more large-scale electricity supply. To ensure reliability and affordability for ratepayers while addressing the risks and costs of climate change, we need to also double energy productivity and electrification.
“As the hub for the deployment of key electrification technologies – heat pumps, electric vehicle charging, thermal storage and distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar panels and batteries – buildings are essential to enabling a reliable, affordable low-carbon energy system. That’s why government must deliver on its electrification strategy goal of retrofitting one million homes and enable the scaling of a national retrofit sector, by committing $5 billion over five years and prioritizing multi-unit residential buildings.
“Investing in retrofitting our existing buildings is one of the few actions that delivers a powerful triple dividend: lowering utility costs and emissions, while helping Canadians adapt to a changing climate. If we don’t get this right, Canadians risk paying for more electricity infrastructure than we need. Efficiency, flexibility and distributed energy resources (DERs) can help meet growing energy demand while keeping costs as low as possible, for governments and Canadians. And those benefits need to be accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford to invest upfront.
“Federal government programs such as the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program and the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative are critical foundations. They demonstrate how whole-building retrofits can deliver lasting affordability gains, while helping build the skilled workforce, delivery models and industry capacity needed to meet Canada’s retrofit challenge at scale. The continuation of these programs through funding in Budget 2026 would ensure we grow investment opportunities in retrofits.”
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Contact
Sarah Snowdon
Senior Comms Lead, Pembina Institute
647-797-9329
Background
Submission: Budget 2026
Op-ed: Canada’s buildings can do more than consume electricity
Op-ed: Buildings can be a demand-side driver for Canada’s National Electricity Strategy
Op-ed: The untapped value of retrofit investments
Blog: Electrification is industrial strategy: It's time we see it that way
Blog: Retrofit investments are nation‑building
