​Federal Mandate Letters Indicate Support for Deep Energy Retrofits

January 16, 2021

Prime Minister Trudeau has released his mandate letters for each cabinet minister in his government.

Mandate letters outline the objectives that each minister will work to accomplish, as well as the challenges they will address in their roles.

Supplementary mandate letters issued by the Prime Minister in January 2021 add to commitments in the mandate letters released in 2019. They outline further responsibilities and prioritize areas of focus for the government to ensure a strong economic recovery in Canada. 

These mandate letters suggest we might see some new developments in the energy efficiency field in the coming years. 

All mandate letters can be reviewed here.

Minister of Natural Resources, Seamus O’Regan:

  • Work with the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to operationalize a plan to help Canadians make their homes more energy efficient and climate resilient. This will include:
    • Providing free energy audits to homeowners and landlords
    • Up to $40,000 in interest-free lending for retrofits that will save Canadians money on their energy use
    • A cash incentive for borrowers to maximize their energy savings
    • Creating a Net Zero Homes Grant of up to $5,000 for newly built homes that are certified net zero-emissions
  • Launch a national competition to create 4 long-term funds to help attract private capital that can be used for deep retrofits of large buildings such as office towers.

 

Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne:

  • Implement the Net-Zero Accelerator Fund in continuing to support Canada’s manufacturing, transportation, natural resource, and energy sectors as they work to transform to meet a net-zero future, creating good-paying and long-lasting jobs.

 

Minister of Environment & Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson:

  • Implement the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, while strengthening existing and introducing new greenhouse gas reducing measures to exceed Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction goal and beginning work so that Canada can achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

 

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development & Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough:

  • Invest in skills training to ensure that there are enough qualified workers to support energy audits, retrofits, and net zero home construction.

 

Minister of Infrastructure, Minister McKenna:

  • Conduct Canada’s first-ever national infrastructure assessment to help identify needs and priorities in the built environment and undertake long-term planning toward a net-zero emissions future.
  • As the Minister responsible for the Canada Infrastructure Bank, work to transform how we power our economy and communities, including by moving forward with investments in large-scale building retrofits and clean power.

 

Minister of Environment, Jonathan Wilkinson:

  • Implement a government-wide climate plan to exceed Canada’s 2030 climate goal, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy. Work with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders on advancing climate action.
  • Legislate Canada’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.