Builders, business leaders, and environmental groups demand that homes built by new government agency must be green

111 businesses, tradespeople, and climate organizations are calling on the Federal government to commit to using exclusively modern clean heating technologies, rather than polluting oil or gas furnaces, in its new Build Canada Homes program. 

The demands were shared in an open letter published today in response to the Housing Ministry seeking input into the design of the new agency, which plans to build millions of new homes in the coming years. 

“What the government does with the left hand should be consistent with what it’s trying to do with the right hand,” said Lana Goldberg, Climate Campaigner with environmental advocacy organization Stand.earth, which authored the open letter. “Yes, we desperately need to build new affordable homes. We’ve also made commitments to tackle the climate crisis. Fortunately we can do both at the same time, but only if the federal government can act as a coherent unit.”  

The letter — signed by over a dozen architects, engineering firms like Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, and many of the largest environmental organizations in Canada including Stand.earth, Equiterre, David Suzuki Foundation, and Environmental Defense Canada — points out that modern heating technologies like electric heat pumps are much less polluting than traditional oil or gas furnaces, while also being cost competitive and quicker to install since they don’t require new pipelines or hookups. 

Currently, buildings are the third largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in Canada, mostly stemming from the burning of fossil fuels for heating. Proponents of building decarbonization say there are proven clean alternatives. 

“In our homebuilding business, we already build all-electric buildings only,” says Bruce Murdoch, a homebuilder from Cranbrook, B.C., with building company K-Country Homes. “From a builder’s perspective, all-electric homes with heat pump heating for air and water are simpler than older systems since there is one energy source and one appliance for both heating and cooling. Building electric also offers a triple benefit of reducing building costs, production time, and operational costs for homeowners. We need to ensure that federally funded new homes are all-electric and eliminate costly retrofits of obsolete equipment down the road.”

The Build Canada Home’s input site says it wants to “encourage better building methods.” Advocates say building green and healthy homes is an essential part of building better. The letter raises the fact that heat pumps also serve as air conditioners in the summer and can provide indoor air filtration, an increasing need with the spread of wildfire smoke. 

 “The government has an opportunity to provide real leadership to ensure the building sector is serving the needs of residents,” Goldberg said. “And our tax dollars should not be used in a way that would increase Canada’s pollution.”

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Media Contact: Lana Goldberg, lana.goldberg@stand.earth