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$25.6 M in new federal home energy investments for 4 Alberta communities

Canadians in Alberta and beyond are upgrading their homes to be more energy-efficient. Energy efficiency fights climate change creates good jobs and helps families to save on their monthly bills.

The Government of Canada is working with municipalities in Alberta and across Canada to make it easier for retrofits to take place – unlocking sustainable jobs and climate action.

Today in Calgary, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and Taneen Rudyk, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced a $25.6 million investment in four Alberta municipalities, delivered through the Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) initiative. This investment will help these municipalities to implement new home energy retrofit financing programs in their communities across Alberta.

“We are working with municipalities across Alberta to deliver greener buildings and support sustainable economic growth. Today’s announcement with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities will help our partners in Calgary, St. Albert, Lethbridge and Canmore deliver more efficient and comfortable homes that will lower bills for Canadian families, take action against climate change and create good jobs for workers. The Government of Canada is pleased to support these initiatives,” says Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources.

The City of Calgary, City of St. Albert, City of Lethbridge, and Town of Canmore are receiving $15,000,000, $5,017,400, $3,814,300, and $1,622,960, respectively to implement energy retrofit financing programs for residential properties.

The grants and loans from Green Municipal Fund (GMF) will allow each municipality to establish a program and begin lending to homeowners. The Clean Energy Improvement Programs (CEIP) will utilize the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing mechanism. Homeowners can repay the cost of their home energy projects over time through a CEIP charge added to their property tax bills. The CEIPs will be administered by Alberta Municipalities, the association representing urban municipalities in Alberta.

The Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, a Low Carbon Cities Canada partner for both the City of Calgary and the City of Edmonton, receives $140,700 through CEF to look at the feasibility of complementary financing models to CEIP, such as home energy retrofit programs that provide access to capital, and are led by qualified contractors who encourage and support homeowners already planning home renovations or upgrades, to include energy retrofits in their plans.

The Government of Canada is pleased to financially support the FCM Green Municipal Fund, which offers the Community Efficiency Financing initiative. CEF helps communities of all sizes implement innovative local financing programs like Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), utility on-bill financing and third-party lending partnerships.

By leveraging these existing models, CEF helps communities by providing capital to homeowners to make their homes more energy-efficient, while creating local jobs and keeping the economy moving. Since the launch of CEF in 2020, GMF has also invested in Clean Energy Improvement Programs in the cities of Edmonton and Leduc, and the towns of Devon and Rocky Mountain House.

CEF is one of the ways GMF continues to build on its 20-year record of supporting transformative environmental initiatives at the community level. The Government of Canada has invested $1.65 billion in GMF since its inception, enabling municipalities to support projects like this that leverage local resources to drive innovative solutions.
“Our federal Liberal government is investing $15 million in the City of Calgary because we believe in a more energy-efficient and sustainable future for all Canadians. This includes taking steps to fight climate change, create good jobs and deliver a prosperous net-zero future for our kids,” says George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview.