Partnering for progress: accelerating deep energy retrofits in canada

Green Communities Canada (GCC) would like to thank our funders Peter Gilgan Foundation, Trottier Family Foundation, and McConnell Foundation (along with in-kind contributions from Google and Salesforce) for supporting the development of our national Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) program.

In our first year, this funding enabled us to hire dedicated staff and expand our engagement with local and regional organizations across Canada to better understand the challenge of accelerating deep energy retrofits to meet Canada’s 2050 net zero goals. Reaching out beyond GCC’s traditional residential energy efficiency network in Ontario, we have met passionate individuals and innovative organizations supporting their communities in this transition to net zero.

From hard working territorial government employees in Whitehorse, and innovative energy coaching leaders on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland to a Calgary-based environmental organization and utility that have partnered to provide resources to new Canadians, we have had the privilege to learn about incredible initiatives being designed and delivered in regions across the country.

There are many incredible organizations that have taken a leadership role to support their municipal PACE programs and many that provide services at the front-end of the deep energy retrofit process. Indigenous governments and partner organizations are also leading essential job-training retrofit projects in Charlottetown, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, and a growing number of other communities, helping ensure more equitable access to a net zero future. We are excited about opportunities for transformative collaboration with organizations who share the same vision of a net zero future.

We are especially grateful to be doing this work alongside committed partners, including the talented folks at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), QUEST Canada,  Retrofit Canada, ReCover and Low Carbon Communities Canada. Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) work to address affordability and energy poverty along with B.C. Non Profit Housing Association and the Community Housing Transformation Centre is also inspiring.

With a growing deep energy retrofit national network, a series of case studies from across the country being assembled, and the ongoing identification of local program successes to be amplified and shared via our DER Solutions Clearinghouse, GCC is well on our way to accelerate efforts towards deep energy retrofits and meeting Canada’s 2050 net zero goals. This work would not be possible without the generous help of our funders!