OTTAWA — Scott MacDougall, Director of the Electricity program at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the 2024 Federal Budget:
“Budget 2024 is a step forward from the federal government toward a clean energy future. The Pembina Institute is pleased to see progress in housing, transportation, important clean energy investment tax credits, and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program.
But the federal government cannot do this alone. It's time for all the provinces, territories, as well as industry to invest in the clean economy, which will deliver affordable energy, create good jobs, and advance reconciliation, while addressing climate change.
The Pembina Institute applauds the continued efforts to increase the national housing supply, however all new construction must be both affordable and climate resilient. The requirement for provinces to adopt upcoming changes to the National Building Code to access the $5 billion in the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund will assist in moving this in the right direction.
In the lead-up to this budget, we were pleased to see the federal government tackle the accessibility and affordability of housing. One of the major barriers to affordability remains the mounting cost of heating and cooling our homes. The previously announced $903.5 million investment in the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program will assist in addressing both affordability and climate change, but there is much more to be done. We estimate it will take an average annual investment of $2.8 billion from 2025 to 2050 from the federal and provincial governments and utilities to adequately support retrofits for low-income households experiencing energy poverty and sufficiently advance the national retrofit market.
Budget 2024 helps move Canada toward a net-zero electricity supply by 2035 by announcing further details of the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit. This will eventually facilitate urgently needed investment in a modernized, well-connected grid based on renewables and other low-carbon, low-cost forms of generation, supported by a suite of energy storage and transmission infrastructure. We are pleased to see the expectation that provinces or territories publicly align with net-zero electricity targets in order for their crown corporations to receive the investment tax credit.
The government has also introduced a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Supply Chain Investment Tax Credit. We look forward to further details being released. Reducing emissions from transportation is essential as this is the second highest emitting sector in Canada after the oil and gas sector. We are also pleased to see an allocation of $1 billion to build charging stations through Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program, financed through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
The labour conditions attached to the various tax credits will spur investments in key growth industries, while opening new economic pathways and creating good jobs for workers. This is in line with the intent of the Sustainable Jobs Act, which we were pleased to see passed yesterday — a big win for Canadian workers.
We are pleased to see the government’s ongoing commitment to delivering on the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Investment Tax Credit. Today’s announcement paves the way to additional certainty in the investment environment for decarbonization projects in the oil and gas sector, which will also create good paying jobs, particularly in Alberta.
We are pleased to see the roll-out of the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, which aims to facilitate Indigenous equity ownership in major resource projects. This will help Indigenous communities build and implement clean energy projects, recognizing some of the unique barriers they face. With dedicated funding for the next two years (2024-2026), the Indigenous Loan Guarantee program will also support early capacity-building measures for Indigenous energy leaders – an important measure for addressing specific financial inequities in resource development. We note, however, that the Indigenous Loan Guarantee program is largely geared toward major resource projects and many remote communities may not be eligible for this program. We look forward to learning more about the program as it evolves."
As a long-time member of the Green Budget Coalition, the Pembina Institute has also supported the following recommendations to the federal government:
- A renovation wave for climate resilient homes and affordable home energy
- Advancing a zero-emissions electricity grid based on renewables
- Sustainable jobs for a net-zero Canada
Contact
Laurence Miall (English / français)
Communications Manager, Pembina Institute
438-878-1703
