Clean Energy Canada

VANCOUVER — The ongoing tariff drama created by President Donald Trump has turned economic diversification into a national imperative for America’s northern neighbour.

Fortunately, Canada has trade agreements with 60% of the global economy, making it well positioned to lessen its reliance on U.S. markets. But as Canadian governments and companies look to make strategic and long-term investment decisions with these trading partners in mind, Canada must accurately assess where their economies are headed.

Accordingly, a new Clean Energy Canada analysis finds that among Canada’s 10 largest non-U.S. trade partners, all of them have net-zero commitments and carbon pricing systems, and roughly half apply carbon border adjustments on imports and have domestic EV requirements reshaping their car markets.

Taken together, these measures send a clear, unmistakable signal. Carbon border adjustments, for example, levy a charge based on the carbon intensity of a good’s production and therefore incentivize low-carbon products from importing nations like Canada.

Meanwhile, the existence of a carbon price and a requirement for more EVs means that a market is weaning itself off fossil fuels, and thus demand for oil and gas will see a decline, while interest in clean energy imports and low-carbon products will increase.

A number of think tanks and business groups have analyzed and identified opportunities in Canada’s clean economy, including but not limited to clean electricity generation and transmission, critical minerals, EVs and batteries, low-carbon heavy industry, and value-added agricultural and forest products, all of which are explored in the report.

To realize Canada’s potential, federal and provincial governments should take a number of important steps, including:

• accelerating regulatory and permitting processes for clean growth projects,
• recognizing green collar worker credentials across provinces,
• accelerating the build-out of critical trade, energy, and transportation infrastructure,
• prioritizing interprovincial electricity grid interties in strategic regions,
• supporting demand for clean goods that benefit Canadian suppliers,
• and promoting Canadian businesses abroad and Canada as a destination for investment under the banner of a “Clean Canada” brand.

As The World Next Door concludes, seizing the clean economic opportunity is not about starting over, but about leveraging pre-existing industries and advantages in a way that sets Canada up for a sustainable future.

Report | The World Next Door

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TORONTO — As Canada moves forward with plans to build millions of new homes, the carbon emissions associated with the materials that make up houses and other major infrastructure are substantial. But a new Clean Energy Canada report released today finds that building with lower-carbon materials and methods doesn’t need to make housing more expensive—and even has the added benefit of supporting Canadian industries at a time of high tariffs and trade tension.

Manufacturing the construction materials that make up our buildings, from the concrete foundations to the drywall, creates significant carbon pollution. Meeting the previous federal government’s housing plan (which would support nearly four million houses by 2030) was expected to generate the equivalent of more than a year’s worth of Canada’s total emissions by 2030.

Thankfully there are a number of cleaner material options, many of which are made in Canada, from steel produced in Electric Arc Furnaces to low-carbon concrete mixes. This report looks at the price of using these cleaner products, finding that lower-carbon equivalents are available in Canada at the same cost or for a negligible cost premium across almost all building materials and case studies explored. 

In a world where the U.S. is an increasingly unreliable trading partner, choosing these lower-carbon materials can help scale up domestic industries, enabling them to become more competitive exporters to other global jurisdictions, like the EU, that are seeking low-carbon products. 

There is one key way to help set up these industries for success, the report argues: “Buy Clean” policies, where governments require that cleaner materials are used in public construction projects. By using this approach in public procurement policy, Canada could avoid up to 4 million tonnes of emissions by 2030 (the equivalent of 850,000 cars). Such a policy can offer a trade-compliant route to supporting Canadian industries at a time of tariffs and uncertainty. 

Head to the report for more on why building clean homes and infrastructure doesn’t need to cost the earth.

• Material emissions savings of up to 32% for concrete, 100% for structural steel, 53% for rebar, 55% for drywall, and 98% for insulation were identified at no or negligible cost increases in the case study analysis.
• More efficient design of buildings can already reduce both cost and carbon by reducing the quantity of construction materials needed. Simplifying or streamlining building designs can also speed up construction. 
• The federal government has adopted policies requiring concrete and steel used in federally procured projects to be lower-carbon. Major construction projects funded by the federal government also require emissions reduction of 30% across the whole project. 
• With building operations such as heating and cooling getting electrified, the emissions from construction will make up a larger share. The embodied emissions of an efficient electrically heated building can make up as much as 93% of the building’s cumulative emissions impact by 2050.

Report | Building Toward Low Cost and Carbon

Report | Building Success: Implementing Effective Buy Clean Policies

Report | Money Talks

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News recently broke that B.C.’s electric vehicle rebate is under government review, a decision some have tied to the removal of B.C.’s consumer carbon tax and whether it creates a funding gap for the program.

It helps to start with the facts. B.C.’s EV rebate was not funded by the province’s late consumer carbon tax and, in fact, the policy isn’t funded by taxpayers at all.

B.C.’s EV rebate is funded by BC Hydro, which collects revenue as a result of another climate measure called the low-carbon fuel standard. Fuel producers regulated under the standard can either make their fuel cleaner—for example, by blending in biofuels or distributing electricity—or purchase credits from cleaner fuel producers.

BC Hydro earns money from these credits, which the electric utility uses to help British Columbians purchase money-saving, pollution-cutting electric cars.

But in conducting a review, B.C. has a critical opportunity to ensure more families benefit from EV rebates. We should absolutely not walk away from a program that saves considerable costs for British Columbians, our health-care system and our climate—especially when our friends in Quebec and California are stepping up, not back.

When B.C. removed its consumer carbon tax, it was crystal clear that the province would need programs in place to help households make the switch. Experience time and again has proven that EV rebates are incredibly effective—and frankly necessary if B.C. wishes to still consider itself a North American climate leader.

Change, however, is indeed needed. Roughly two years ago, B.C. introduced an income cutoff for its full EV incentive ($80,000) that is now below the average income of full-time workers in the province between the ages of 25 and 54. It also has not kept up with annual wage increases.

In short, many retirees qualify, but middle-class working parents struggling to buy their first townhouse often do not. This is even more disharmonious than it sounds, given that more than three in four Metro Vancouverites under 44 are inclined to buy an EV as their next car, according to a survey Clean Energy Canada undertook with Abacus Data due for public release this spring.An overwhelming 80 per cent of respondents also say they support incentives for clean technologies such as EVs, while those who did not qualify for the full rebate were twice as likely to say their exclusion was unfair than fair.

It almost goes without saying that we shouldn’t be excluding teachers and nurses from incentives to buy new EVs, but in many cases, that is exactly how the policy in its current form functions. The EV rebate is a distinctly middle-class measure that excludes much of the working middle class.

It’s also worth noting that the current policy includes a vehicle price limit of $50,000, so luxury vehicles like Teslas are already excluded. This restriction we agree with, as it more elegantly excludes fancy cars and the people who buy them.

Truly lower-income, lower-wealth individuals are not buying new cars of any powertrain, period. What will benefit them is a healthier used car market. How do we create the conditions for a better used market? Simple: get more EVs into the province. Every new car is destined to become a used one.

Today, you can buy a used Chevrolet Bolt—a popular electric hatchback with impressive range—with relatively low mileage for around $25,000 in the province. Not a bad deal for a car that could save you $2,000-3,000 a year on fuel. That kind of used EV at that price point wasn’t available even a few years ago, but B.C.’s historically high EV adoption rate has fed a more abundant and competitive used market.

Unfortunately, once Canada’s EV king, B.C. now ranks a distant second behind Quebec. In 2024, S&P Global reports EV sales in Canada’s French province reached an impressive 33 per cent compared with just 23 per cent in B.C. Two years ago, those numbers were 20 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

Sales in B.C. are flatlining because the program is excluding its most willing adopters: young, working British Columbians. People who could be enjoying considerable fuel savings every year, which they instead might spend at local businesses rather than lining the pockets of fossil fuel companies.

The other hidden costs of gas cars are considerable. A Health Canada study found that air pollution from road transportation leads to $1.3 billion in health-care impacts annually in the province.

Or roughly the value of BC Hydro incentivizing half a million EV sales with a widely accessible $2,500 rebate. Now there’s an idea.

This post was co-authored by Evan Pivnick and first appeared in Business in Vancouver.

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VANCOUVER — A third of Canadians live in apartment or condo buildings. In most major cities, that proportion is even higher. But charging an EV can be more challenging for apartment dwellers, posing a barrier to adoption for some. As Canada embarks on a generational housing buildout, the time is now to support EV charging in condos, argues a new Clean Energy Canada report, Electrifying the Lot.

Installing EV charging in new builds is three to four times cheaper than upgrading an existing building. But there are currently no federal regulations requiring EV readiness in new construction despite a new housing plan promising four million new homes over the next decade.

Younger Canadians are particularly affected, being generally more likely to live in an apartment and also more inclined to go electric. Thankfully, there is plenty that can be done. Many municipalities, particularly in B.C., and Quebec, have introduced “EV ready” bylaws that require new buildings to includeEV charging, while some provinces also support the installation of EV chargers in pre-existing buildings.

But a piecemeal approach led by municipalities isn’t the best option for anyone—residents, charging station providers, developers, or our climate. And varied and sometimes contradictory regulations add complexity and bureaucratic red tape, delaying installations. 

Governments at all levels should up their game and introduce stronger policies and programs to ensure everyone can access the huge cost-savings of driving an EV, regardless of their living situation. To that end, the report highlights a number of best practices that should be introduced at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

After all, driving an EV is one of the best ways for Canadian families to save money on gas. Now is the time to make sure all Canadians can reap the rewards of going electric.

• Three out of five (60%) people aged 20 to 44 live in apartment buildings in Metro Vancouver compared to half of people aged over 44. And yet, younger people are generally more interested in EVs: 77% of those aged 18 to 44 are inclined to go electric, according to a Clean Energy Canada and Abacus Data study to be released later this spring, compared to around 62% for those aged 45 or older.
• Quebec is currently the only province with EV readiness requirements for new homes in its building code and is in the process of extending the requirement to all apartment buildings before the end of 2025, with new draft regulations just released this month.
• Apartment buildings are found in the majority of communities in Canada (34% of total), though they are particularly prevalent in cities. They make up 40% of all households in Toronto and 52% in Vancouver proper.

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