A new blueprint: How Canada can improve housing affordability and reduce carbon emissions

By making optimization the default in both new builds and retrofits, this country can improve affordability, foster sustainability and drive economic growth.

Canada is grappling with three existential and overlapping crises: housing affordability, climate change and economic survival. These challenges, however, provide a unique opportunity. If we leverage targeted policy tools, financing mechanisms and cutting-edge technology to create better buildings — both new and retrofits — we can begin to solve all three and create positive impacts for society and the economy.

“The gravity of these compounded crises is sobering,” says Tyler Hamilton, senior director of climate at MaRS. “But it should also provide more than enough incentive for stakeholders across the board — from government policy-makers to forward-thinking building managers — to collaborate on efforts to spur wider adoption of the solutions that are already available.”

Canada has the tools and technology it needs to construct and operate better buildings that emit less carbon, are constructed for a lower cost and at a faster pace, and drive productivity in the construction industry. This can be achieved with a few core initiatives:

• While government updates building codes, industry should build beyond those guidelines and raise the bar of what’s possible by investing in emerging technologies that will reduce operational costs of ownership while also cutting carbon emissions over the long run.
• Boost the productivity of the construction industry by simplifying regulations and incentivizing innovative approaches to building new housing as well as keeping existing homes in a state of good repair.
• Make retrofits predictable and attractive to both asset managers and individual homeowners and demonstrate the ROI of these investments.

In this special report, we explore what it will take to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies in the building industry.

Download the full report