A national low-income energy efficiency initiative must co-ordinate with existing programs currently administered by utilities, governments and community organizations to leverage resources and avoid participant confusion by offering one-stop-shop services.

Significantly larger investment from the federal government will reach more low-income Canadians and prioritize deeper savings if funds are linked to performance objectives focused on energy poverty and emission reductions for a net-zero economy.

A transformative goal would be to perform comprehensive retrofits on all homes experiencing energy poverty by the time the carbon price rises from its 2021 level of $40 per tonne to $170 per tonne by 2030.

The federal carbon pricing policy includes quarterly rebates to put more money in the pockets of the majority of Canadians. However, some lower-income households might consume more fossil fuels because they live in inefficient housing, resulting in higher energy costs relative to income. These households might also attempt to escape these costs by not heating and cooling at healthy levels. Funding low-income efficiency will ensure all Canadians can take action to reduce their GHG emissions and insulate themselves from higher carbon prices.

Funding low-income energy efficiency in the next budget will also contribute to economic stimulus and job creation. Low-income households are more likely to spend extra funds from energy savings, and people from the communities the programs serve can be hired to do the work.

With these federal objectives in mind, the following three principles should define a national low-income energy-efficiency agenda.

First, remove low-income specific barriers by offering no-cost and turnkey retrofits. It will also be important for delivery partners to access funds for safety and structural repairs that are often required before energy efficiency upgrades.

Second, direct programs to maximize energy savings per home to create a meaningful reduction in energy bills while also readying homes to eliminate fossil fuel use so they are insulated from carbon price increases. Improvements should also target health benefits, such as better indoor air quality.

Third, training and employment of lower-income, rural and racialized Canadians to do the upgrade and outreach work should be integrated with programs. This is not only a strategy to create jobs for those traditionally under-represented in the skilled trades: trusted community members, who might share the same first language, will then act as energy-efficiency ambassadors and increase program participation.

Deep energy-saving and zero-carbon retrofits for all homes experiencing energy poverty could require an investment of $100 billion, but these costs can decrease by strategically encouraging economies of scale and leveraging multiple funding sources. To start, federal funding for low-income energy efficiency should at least be equal to what has already been committed for commercial and residential retrofits for higher-income Canadians in 2020 ($2 billion to $3 billion)."

Low-income energy efficiency must be an urgent priority in the next federal budget to ensure a socially just and inclusive net-zero-emissions economy after the pandemic. We must make energy efficiency services available to everyone and ensure the transition to a net-zero economy is a benefit rather than a burden for lower-income Canadians.