Ontario Construction News staff writer
The federal government has announced a new plan to phase out the use of oil-fired furnaces in new construction projects, urging homeowners and businesses to transition to heat pumps over the next few years.
The Canada Green Buildings Strategy, released Tuesday, details Ottawa’s priorities for reducing carbon emissions from buildings—the third-largest source of climate-altering emissions in the country.
Also, the Green strategy calls for construction of more green and affordable homes, warning that materials with high carbon footprints, like cement and steel, could undermine progress. Canada needs 3.5 million new homes by 2030, and if built using current practices, these structures could add up to 18 megatonnes of greenhouse gases annually.
For residential buildings, Canada will need at least 3.5 million new homes by 2030. However, if built with current practices, using materials containing a significant amount of ‘embodied carbon’, and to base (minimum) building codes and standards, these structures will add up to 18 MTs of GHGs to our carbon footprint annually. Constructing green and resilient electric-powered buildings, using low-carbon construction materials provides an opportunity to achieve decarbonization and resilience objectives faster and with lower costs than retrofitting and electrifying later.
While Ottawa can set standards for federal construction, implementing these standards falls to provincial and territorial governments. The federal government can, however, use its purchasing and spending power to encourage greener building practices across the country. Since 2016, Ottawa has invested over $20 billion in green building projects, including the Greener Homes Grant program for low- to medium-income households.
Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the government plans to use regulations and funding to promote the adoption of heat pumps and establish a regulatory framework to eliminate the installation of oil heating systems in new constructions by 2028.
To meet its emissions targets, Canada must significant increase green retrofits for houses and commercial buildings. The main challenges are funding and labour availability.
Buildings are the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, following the oil and gas and transportation sectors. In 2022, building emissions equaled the output from 201 million barrels of oil. Canada aims to reduce building sector emissions by 37 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Most building emissions come from air conditioners, furnaces, and boilers. Transitioning to electric heat pumps could significantly cut these emissions.
The strategy also emphasizes the importance of retrofitting existing structures for energy efficiency, particularly residential buildings, with current grants and low-interest loan programs to offset costs.