Remarks to the Study on Home Energy Retrofits
The following is a transcript of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment & Sustainable Development
Thank you, Madame Chair.
My name is Thomas Mueller, and I am the President and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council. We represent 700 companies, and work with industry and labour partners across Canada’s green building sector — A sector that in 2024 represented $81 dollars in GDP and supported over half a million skilled jobs.
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Committee for its study on home energy retrofits.
Madame Chair, our central message is this: Canada does not only need more homes, we needs better-performing homes. Energy-efficient, healthy and resilient homes reduce utility costs and keep Canadians safe.
Today, I will focus on apartment buildings — home for millions of Canadians — and how better performance is essential to long-term housing affordability.
All housing projects — new builds and retrofits — must prioritize quality and performance. The latest government data suggests that Canada could warm by up to five degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
As shown by increases in deaths caused by extreme heat events, buildings must improve if they are to protect Canadians in a warmer and more unpredictable climate.
Beyond safe-guarding Canadians from climate change, building performance also impacts their pocketbooks. Housing affordability isn’t just about the purchase price, rent or mortgage. It’s also utility bills, repairs and maintenance costs. These expenses add up: our recent commissioned survey shows 60 percent of Canadians feel their energy bill is at least a moderate financial burden.
Tackling public health and utility costs means prioritizing Canada’s vast existing building stock. Retrofitting these buildings will be critical if we are to meet the nation’s needs for quality housing for Canadians.
Success will require a shift in thinking from existing buildings as a cost burden, to existing buildings as high-impact investments that lower operating expenses, ensure utility savings, protect tenants, and preserve housing assets for decades.
To address the urgency and unlock the benefits of high-performing buildings, we have five recommendations.
First, the government should embed energy performance requirements into its affordable and rental housing investments, recognizing that affordability includes monthly costs like utilities. There is clear support for this, as 88 percent of Canadians want efficiency standards in affordable housing projects.
Second, we recommend that federal policy should support retrofit pathways that align with capital budgets and equipment replacement cycles. This pragmatic approach allows owners to reduce energy use and emissions more affordably.
Our third recommendation is for stable, predictable, multi-year retrofit funding. Building projects can take years to get off the ground. Short program windows and changing eligibility rules make them difficult to plan and discourage small and medium-sized contractors.
The fourth recommendation is that government provide accessible financing for home energy retrofits — paired with consistent, recognized approaches to measuring and verifying building performance. Credible third-party certifications can verify performance is achieved and maintained.
Finally, we recommend a coherent, whole-of-government approach to affordable housing. This means national strategies and programs would reinforce one another through consistent, stackable performance requirements for a more streamlined, efficient and predictable delivery.
Madame Chair, home retrofits are not only climate strategy. They are also an affordability, health, equity, and resilience strategy. Canada needs more homes, but it also needs homes that are safe, comfortable, and functional for decades to come.
Thank you.
