NRCan Announces Call for Proposals for Codes Acceleration Fund

On January 24, 2023, the Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a $100 million fund to accelerate the adoption of “higher-performance” codes across Canada’s buildings sector.  

According to the press release, the federal government wants to “accelerate the adoption of and implementation of the highest feasible energy-performance tiers of the national model energy codes, promote higher rates of compliance with adopted codes, and build capacity and support market preparedness for ambitious code adoption.” 

The $100 million Codes Acceleration Fund will cover two work streams.  

The first funding stream will provide $80 million to support provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous governments to address gaps in code compliance and enforcement.  

The second stream will provide $20 million to organizations such as not-for-profits that do not have the authority to adopt codes but can help “deliver projects that contribute to code adoption, compliance, and enforcement … [as well as] … develop training, tools, resources, and other capacity building activities.” 

According to the Codes Acceleration Fund Application Guide, the following activities are eligible for funding:  

  • Technical studies; research and analysis; feasibility studies; assessments and evaluations; monitoring and verification; tools to support code adoption and compliance; design validation services associated with construction of new buildings; and other tools to support code adoption or compliance. 

  • Developing detailed road maps for code adoption and compliance that build on current plans. 

  • Business cases or plans and project development and management. 

  • Data collection and analysis. 

  • Best practices guides and process tools for code implementation and compliance.

  • Energy modelling and simulation software and monitoring and tracking systems to track energy performance or code compliance. 

  • Integrated design processes and charrettes (problem-solving design and planning sessions) to identify optimized opportunities. 

  • Commissioning and building optimization studies and guides that support code adoption and implementation. 

  • Training, including development and delivery.

  • Stakeholder engagement and communication and awareness programs, including disseminating information. 

  • Evaluation of the project to determine the overall impacts of the projects. 

The call for proposals will remain open until March 27, 2023.  

While HRAI will consider making a formal submission to NRCan, if members wish to submit a proposal, the application process can be found in the application guide linked above.  

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Stephen Chartrand at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 276 or email schartrand@hrai.ca.  

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