PM’s green plans will raise cost of housing
While the Trudeau government is readying a new plan to increase affordable housing, it is a good time to look at what its green energy plans will do to the cost of housing for Canadians.
While the Trudeau government is readying a new plan to increase affordable housing, it’s a good time to look at what its green energy plans will do to the cost of housing for Canadians. McKitrick estimates the costs will be highest in B.C. at $78,093 followed in descending order by Ontario ($71,818); Quebec ($38,070); Alberta ($35,499); Nova Scotia ($30,677); P.E.I ($28,369); Manitoba ($26,894); Saskatchewan ($26,436); Newfoundland and Labrador ($22,966) and New Brunswick ($22,144).
In “Wrong Move at the Wrong Time: Economic Impacts of the New Federal Building Energy Efficiency Mandates”, McKitrick estimates this will reduce Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions by just 0.9% and lower Canada’s GDP by 1.8% by 2030.McKitrick says the main reason for the higher costs is a proposal in the Trudeau government’s Building Energy Efficiency components of its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan that requires energy consumption in new residential buildings to be reduced to 65% below 2019 levels by
“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,” McKitrick said.
These increased costs don’t just apply to new homes.
The C.D. Howe Institute reported last year that it would cost up to $18,000 to retrofit existing homes.
That study by Charles DeLand and Alexander Vanderhoof, “Only Hot Air? The Implications of Replacing Oil and Gas in Canadian Homes”, concluded that “even in an extreme scenario where no new emitting buildings came on the market after 2022, emissions only fall by about 26% to 2030, still not enough to meet government targets (of 42%).”
The Trudeau government has said it has programs in place to help home owners meet the increased costs of lowering their residential emissions and that there will be substantial savings for homeowners because of the lower energy costs that come with making homes more energy efficient.
That said, the cost of lowering residential housing emissions drives home the reality that carbon pricing raises the cost of almost everything.
