December 14, 2023 Thunder Bay, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
More and more Canadians in Ontario and across the country are looking to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient, which helps fight climate change, create good local jobs and save on monthly bills. That's why the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are working with municipalities and their partners to make it easier for people to plan and finance their retrofits.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Scott Pearce, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, announced an investment of over $1.24 million through the Green Municipal Fund's Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) initiative. These grants will support communities across Ontario in developing home-energy upgrade financing programs that will help households save money while improving comfort and lowering their emissions.
Communities receiving funding include:
- The City of Thunder Bay ($175,000)
- The City of Peterborough ($175,000)
- The City of Windsor ($175,000)
- The Town of Aurora ($174,420)
- The City of Sault Ste. Marie ($100,720)
- The City of Orillia ($95,920)
Additionally, the Clean Air Partnership, a charitable environmental organization, receives $350,000 to develop home-energy upgrade financing programs that are tailored to local communities in collaboration with seven municipalities: Dufferin County, the City of London, the City of Barrie, the Town of Huntsville, the Municipality of Clarington, the City of Kawartha Lakes and Tay Valley Township. This cohort approach aims to reduce the workload of municipal staff, increase engagement and buy-in across municipalities, and help residents save more on utility bills and increase home value and climate resilience.
Since its inception in 2020, CEF has enabled municipalities to test innovative approaches to help homeowners plan and pay for energy efficiency upgrades that create local jobs and keep the economy moving. Established as part of the Budget 2019 investment of $950 million, CEF is one of the ways GMF continues to build on its long record of supporting transformative environmental initiatives at the community level. GMF, administered by FCM, is funded through an endowment by the Government of Canada.
