Federal, provincial energy-saving funding announced

Canada and Prince Edward Island are working together to take climate action and find solutions to help Canadians save money, reduce energy waste, create jobs, and support healthy communities.

Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay—on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna—and Prince Edward Island’s Minister of Communities, Land and Environment, Richard Brown, announced a federal investment of $23.8 million to help the people of Prince Edward Island improve energy efficiency in their homes, businesses, industries, and farm operations across the province, as well as reduce carbon pollution in the forestry sector. This joint investment totals $47.8 million.

The Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund will support three of the province’s programs that take climate action.

The first program — Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Built Environment Through Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching — will provide assistance with building retrofits, and it introduces new residential, commercial, and industrial programs with instant rebates on the purchase of energy-efficient products and their installation. The program will also target fuel switching and process changes in the industrial sector and support carbon-pollution reduction in the agricultural sector.

The second program—Exploring Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Opportunities with Agriculture Producers—will support efforts to reduce carbon pollution in the agricultural sector. The program will accomplish this goal by partnering program and policy experts with the agricultural community, who, together, will explore best practices and will design action plans for growers, leading to more innovation and efficient farming systems.

Finally, the Expanding and Managing Forests for Carbon Sequestration program will also receive funding. This program will enhance the capacity of carbon storage through the conversion and development of new forests on idle and less productive agricultural land.
Prince Edward Island is investing $24 million to support a wide range of projects to help families, businesses, industries, farmers, and landowners make environmentally friendly changes that benefit the economy and the environment. With this investment, Islanders will continue to benefit from a clean environment and make the province a leader in the global fight against climate change.

The Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides $1.4 billion to provinces and territories that have adopted Canada’s clean growth and climate action plan, the Pan-Canadian Framework, to deliver on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Quotes

“The environment and the economy go hand in hand. By investing in PEI to make homes and buildings more energy efficient and by reducing emissions in the agriculture and forestry sectors, we are supporting PEI’s economy, creating good middle-class jobs, and tackling climate change while providing savings for Islanders

– Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada

“This is an important investment that will save Islanders money and help them reduce their carbon footprint. We are pleased to partner with the federal government on the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund and offer programs to increase the energy efficiency of our homes and businesses, expand our forests, promote innovation on our farms, and build a more secure future for Prince Edward Island.”

Richard Brown, Minister of Communities, Land and Environment, Prince Edward Island

"Making smart energy decisions has many benefits for our province. Energy efficiency plays an important role in helping our province’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will also bring many benefits to Islanders and Island businesses alike. Investing in the clean-energy sector will not only create good local jobs and boost our economy, it will also make us a stronger, more sustainable, and resilient province. Through our efficiencyPEI division, we have helped thousands of Islanders save over $9 million off their energy bills, in the last ten years, and, with the support of the Low Carbon Economy Fund, we will have the additional capacity to reach even more Islanders and help us meet our province’s climate goals through energy efficiency.”

– Paula Biggar, Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, Prince Edward Island

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund will make homes and buildings more efficient, comfortable, and affordable to run; will help companies across Canada innovate and access technologies; and will support the forest and agriculture sectors enhance stored carbon in forests and soils.
• The Low Carbon Economy Challenge’s Partnerships stream will open for proposals later in 2018.
• Prince Edward Island recently launched the Climate Action Plan 2018-2023, and the province has committed to reducing its carbon pollution to 30 percent below 2005 levels, by 2030.
• The Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Built Environment Through Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching program will reduce provincial energy use, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and minimize energy cost.

Related Products

• Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund

Associated Links

• The Low Carbon Economy Fund
• Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change
• Climate Change Action Plan 2018-2023

Contacts:

Caroline Thériault
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
613-462-5473
caroline.theriault2@canada.ca

Kim Devine
Senior Communications Officer
Ministry of Communities, Land and Environment
902-368-5286
kmdevine@gov.pe.ca

Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
ec.media.ec@canada.ca
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Twitter page
Environment and Natural Resources in Canada’s Facebook page

Backgrounder

From Environment and Climate Change Canada

The Low Carbon Economy Fund is an important part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The Fund is designed to leverage investments in projects that will generate clean growth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in Canada’s buildings, industry, forestry, and agriculture sectors.

There are two parts to the Low Carbon Economy Fund:

1. The Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides $1.4 billion to provinces and territories that have adopted the Pan-Canadian Framework to deliver on their commitments to reducing carbon pollution and contributing in meeting Canada’s 2030 climate target.

The funding recognizes the key role provinces and territories play in implementing the Pan-Canadian Framework to address climate change, and it supports their efforts to reduce emissions, spur innovation, save money, and create jobs and healthier communities.

Provinces and territories are allocated $30 million in base funding plus additional per-capita funding to support projects including

• energy-efficiency measures for buildings;
• energy efficiency, fuel switching, and process changes in the industrial sector; and
• the enhancement of carbon storage in forests and agricultural land.

2. Over $500 million will be available through the Low Carbon Economy Challenge. The Challenge will support ambitious projects that can be submitted by all provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations. Projects will leverage Canadian innovation across the country to reduce emissions and generate clean growth.

All applicants must ensure their projects will achieve emission reductions that are

• material (measurable and verifiable);
• incremental to existing or planned actions;
• in-line with achieving Canada’s 2030 emissions-reduction target; and
• as cost effective as possible.

Projects in Prince Edward Island

Under the Leadership Fund, each province and territory has identified priority projects that offer cost-effective ways to reduce emissions given their unique circumstances.

Today’s announcement represents $23.8 million of the $34.1 million available to Prince Edward Island, under the Leadership Fund, which supports the province’s climate objectives. Prince Edward Island’s funded projects will help homeowners, businesses, industries, and the agricultural sector increase their energy efficiency and save money, and they will help enhance carbon storage in the province’s forestry sector.  

Current status of Leadership Fund proposals

Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories have already submitted formal proposals for consideration under the Leadership Fund. The Government of Canada continues to collaborate with other provinces and territories to identify priority projects for funding through the Leadership Fund.

Manitoba recently signed on to the Pan-Canadian Framework, and it will be eligible to submit funding proposals for projects that contribute to clean growth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional Leadership Fund proposals are being reviewed for decision later in 2018.