Toronto, ON — Bryan Purcell, VP Policy and Programs, The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) made the following statement addressing urban climate action in Canada’s 2025 budget announcement:
“Today’s budget reaffirms the government’s support for clean electricity and other broad climate measures. However, it offers limited funding or tools to help cities reduce emissions, adapt to climate impacts, or build local resilience. Insufficient funding and weak policy signals for key Canadian sectors like electric vehicles and renewable energy overlook opportunities to transition off fossil fuels as we invest in our economy.
“Budget 2025’s Climate Competitiveness Strategy recognizes the economic growth potential of clean energy and the investments needed to bolster Canada’s clean energy sector. While it reaffirms the importance of the Investment Tax Credits, the strategy lacks the ambition needed to keep Canada competitive with leading clean economies. It does little to advance key technologies that could reduce costs for Canadians, such as electric vehicles, heat pumps, and rooftop solar.
“The renewed commitment to finalizing the long-promised Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (CEITC) is welcome. This will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon grid, unlock investment in large-scale renewable generation and battery storage, and strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in the global clean energy economy. By providing clear support and market certainty, the CEITC shows that climate action and economic growth can go hand in hand.
“At the same time, Budget 2025 amends the CEITC by removing important provincial eligibility conditions and announces an intention to consult on domestic content requirements. Such new requirements could add unnecessary red tape without reducing costs for Canadian taxpayers, at a time when rapid deployment of clean energy is critical.
“Local communities will benefit from the $13 billion allocated for Build Canada Homes. This investment represents a smart approach to modernizing housing construction and strengthening domestic supply chains for construction materials, particularly in light of ongoing U.S. trade tariffs. We recommend that any federal investment into the prefabricated housing industry requires building to the higher tiers of the National Energy Code.
“This Budget glaringly omits recapitalization of the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), the Incentives for Zero Emissions Vehicles Program (iZEV), and the Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) program. Without renewed funding, critical gaps in EV adoption and charging infrastructure will persist. Sustained federal investment is essential to ensure equitable access to EVs and charging, support Canada’s nascent EV-related manufacturing industry, and to keep Canada’s clean transportation transition on track.
“With the Canada Greener Homes Program ended, no new incentives for heat pumps or residential decarbonization were announced to fill the gap. Buildings remain the leading source of emissions in Canadian cities, yet homeowners lack support to decarbonize their homes and lower energy bills. This leaves a significant opportunity to expand the retrofit market untapped.
“It is disappointing that Canada’s Budget 2025 leaves growth opportunities like retrofitting homes and buildings, electrifying transportation, and improving energy security and affordability with distributed energy resources on the table. Without meaningful funding for these industries, it becomes more critical that the federal government follows through on its regulatory commitments, like the Clean Electricity Regulations and the EV Availability Standard.”
As a small community group who wants so much to help TransformTO be administered in Toronto, I am discouraged with the news of less money going to urban environment activity. The answer is always we need more money from other branches of government. What can be done?