The cost of a newly constructed home in Canada will increase by $55,000, on average, by 2030 as a result of the federal government’s stricter energy efficiency regulations for buildings, according to a new study released Tuesday by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.
But, the stricter building regulations will only reduce Canada’s total emissions by 0.9 per cent, said the report.
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“With housing costs already a major concern for so many Canadians, Ottawa’s new building energy efficiency regulations will increase the cost of housing even more and achieve very little in the way of reduced emissions,” said Ross McKitrick, a Fraser Institute senior fellow and author of Wrong Move at the Wrong Time: Economic Impacts of the New Federal Building Energy Efficiency Mandates.
According to the Fraser Institute, the cost increases are mainly due to a proposal in the federal government’s Building Energy Efficiency (BEE) components of the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) that require energy consumption in new residential buildings be reduced to 65 per cent below 2019 levels by 2030.
Across Canada, the increased home costs range from a high of $78,093 in British Columbia to $22,144 in New Brunswick, it said, adding that the new regulations will affect the Canadian economy broadly, reducing economic activity by 1.8 per cent, which translates to roughly $1,700 per worker starting in 2026.
“These are very high costs to impose on Canadians at a time when the economy is struggling and housing is already unaffordable for so many people,” said McKitrick.
“Given these new building regulations will only reduce Canada’s emissions by less than one per cent, policymakers should maybe ask whether the costs are worth it.”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)
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