2023-24 Departmental Results Report - Horizontal initiatives

General Information

Name of horizontal initiative

Investing in Canada Plan (IICP)

Lead department

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC)

Federal partner organization(s)

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)
Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
Canadian Heritage (PCH)
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor)
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor)
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)
Health Canada (HC)
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC)
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Parks Canada (PC)
Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan)
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Public Safety Canada (PS)
Transport Canada (TC)

Start date

April 1, 2016

End date

March 31, 2028

Description

The Investing in Canada Plan (IICP, or the Plan) is a key element to address Canada’️s aging infrastructure and rebuild the nation for the 21st Century, with investments of more than $180 billion over 12 years. Through the IICP, the Government of Canada has made historic new investments in infrastructure providing communities across the country with the tools they need to prosper and innovate.

These investments are creating long-term economic growth, building inclusive, sustainable communities and supporting a low carbon, green economy.

The initial phase of the Plan, announced in Budget 2016, focused on laying a foundation in the short term by accelerating existing federal infrastructure investments and providing $14.4 billion in additional funding for the rehabilitation, repair, and modernization of existing infrastructure. Budget 2017 built on this foundation with $81.2 billion in new funding, to be delivered over 11 years, starting in 2017-18. In addition, over $92 billion is being delivered through Government of Canada’️s existing programs - programs that pre-date the Investing in Canada Plan.

Governance structure

Governance committees are supported by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, as the lead department for the initiative.

The Deputy Ministers’️ Coordinating Committee (DMCC), is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. The aim of the DMCC is to ensure interdepartmental coordination and oversight at the most senior officials level for the IICP, and to support the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities to report to Cabinet and the Prime Minister.

A Directors General Issues Management Committee acts as a steering committee for the horizontal governance of the IICP.

Total federal funding allocated from start to end date (dollars)

$187,691,416,874^{Footnote 1}, ^{Footnote 2}

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars)

$105,855,398,937^{Footnote 3}

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars)

$103,637,048,257^{Footnote 4}

Date of last renewal of initiative

Not applicable.

Total federal funding allocated at last renewal and source of funding (dollars)

Not applicable.

Additional federal funding received after last renewal (dollars)

Not applicable.

Total planned spending since last renewal

Not applicable.

Total actual spending since last renewal

Not applicable.

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation

Not applicable.

Performance highlights

The Government of Canada is eight years through the 12-year Investing in Canada Plan with $151 billion committed. In April 2023, the overall reimbursements claimed for the Plan were $86.1 billion. At the end of fiscal year 2023-24, overall reimbursements now stand at $99.7 billion - a 16% increase year-over-year.

Progress on the Plan continues to be impacted by some of the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly increases in material costs and delays in a number of infrastructure projects. Transit ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels but have begun to rebound, while the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness has increased.

Overall the IICP is progressing steadily as programs mature and are completed, and progress is being made on most targets. Key performance highlights in the 2023-24 fiscal year under the IICP include:

1. Contributing to removing 541,129 households from housing need, which surpasses Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation’️s National Housing Strategy target of removing 530,000 families from housing need.
2. Adding $65 billion in real gross domestic product (GPD) attributable to public investments in infrastructure.
3. Achieving 82.5% of Canadian electricity generated from non-greenhouse gas emitting sources.
4. Creating almost 50,000 new affordable early learning and child care spaces. This updated result exceeds the original target, achieved in 2019, of creating 40,000 more affordable child care spaces.

Contact information

Sean Keenan
Economic Analysis and Results Directorate
180 Kent Street
Ottawa Ontario K1P 0B6
613-761-3188
sean.keenan@infc.gc.ca

Horizontal Initiative Framework: Departmental Funding By Theme (Dollars)

• Improve the resilience of communities and transition to a clean growth economy
• Improve social inclusion and socio-economic outcomes of Canadians
• Create long term growth

Planning information
Horizontal initiative overview

Expected Outcomes Details

Completed horizontal initiative activities

Hold the Ctrl button while selecting to choose multiple options

Future horizontal initiative activities

Horizontal Initiative Framework: Total spending, all outcomes (Dollars)

Performance Narrative

Introduction

21 federal departments and agencies are delivering their programs in order to contribute to the expected outcomes of the Investing in Canada Plan. As of April 2024, over $151 billion in federal funding had been committed to more than 96,700 projects.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

1. The Government of Canada created the Canadian Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) to support skills development and economic diversification activities to help workers and communities adapt to Canada’️s transition to a low-carbon economy. The Infrastructure Fund (CCTI-IF) supports impacted communities by providing investments in local infrastructure projects that encourage economic diversification.
2. In 2023-24, ACOA’️s continued commitment was to use funds to work closely with affected communities and stakeholders to identify economic development opportunities and projects to minimize the effects of the phase out of coal and assist with diversification activities.
3. In 2023-24, 21 projects were supported with $11.4 million in ACOA expenditures for a total of 58 projects supported receiving over $24.9 million of ACOA expenditures since CCTI-IF began.
4. In 2023-24, this helped 8 affected communities diversify their economies for a total of 21 communities supported since CCTI-IF began. Determination of affected communities is dependent on a variety of factors: geographic proximity to mines and/or generating stations, community self-identification, and consideration of impacted economic catchment area. Flexibility to assist communities within a wide geographic footprint is considered eligible.
5. In 2023-24, every dollar ACOA spent leveraged an additional $1.19 from other partners in CCTI-IF projects. This averages $1.69 per dollar spent by ACOA since CCTI-IF began.
6. In 2023-24, 26 projects were partnerships or collaborations that included the client and at least one additional partner and/or collaborator, for example as a project funder. Across these projects, 108 partners/collaborators were involved including businesses, organizations, other government departments, provincial governments, and municipalities. This count includes project clients.
7. In 2023-24, 362 jobs were created or maintained as a result of projects. This totals 561 jobs created or maintained since CCTI-IF began. Data is self-reported by clients and adjusted by ACOA. The definition of a job maintained or created is a job that would have been lost or not created without ACOA support.

Canadian Heritage

Arts: Budget 2017 provided an additional $300M over ten years (2018-2028), representing $30M per year for the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, giving the CCSF a total annual programming budget of $54M for this period. In 2023-24, the CCSF approved funding for 145 new or improved cultural facilities across Canada. The CCSF seeks to improve the physical conditions for arts and heritage related creation, collaboration, presentation, preservation and exhibition, as well as increase and improve Canadians’ access to arts and culture. For example, the CCSF invested $3,000,000 in the Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia, an independent, not-for-profit society with a provincial mandate to establish a museum honouring Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. With this support, the Chinese Canadian Museum Society will renovate the Wing Sang Building, the oldest building in Vancouver’️s Chinatown, to enable permanent museum operations and open the space to the public. Upon completion, the museum will offer 21,000 sq. ft. of useable, operational museum space.

Official Languages: In 2023-2024 Canadian Heritage funded a total of 6 new projects in 6 separate OLMCs under the Community Educational Infrastructure fund for a total of $8,000,000 ($7,892,062 Vote 5 & $91,718 Vote 1). The projects are located in the following 6 distinct communities: Brooks (AB), Charlottetown (PEI), Fort McMurray (AB), Edmonton (AB), Pemberton (BC), Sudbury (ON). The program has therefore approved 6 projects out of a target of 26 to be achieved by March 31, 2028. It has funded projects in 6 separate communities out of a target of 17 to be reached by March 31, 2028. The Program will continue to work towards achieving the targets for the 2023-2028 period.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

In Fiscal Year 2023/24, under Federal Initiatives that fall under the Investing in Canada Plan, over $1.2 billion was spent against planned spending of over $1.04 billion. Under the Affordable Housing Fund, acceleration of funding spent requested in Budget 2022 into 2023-24 through 2025-26 from 2026-27 and 2027-28 accounts for the increase in federal actual spending in 2023/24 above the original planned spending. Since programs were launched, CMHC working with delivery partners has made commitments to create 34,528 new units and repair 164,649 units under the Affordable Housing Fund and 9,579 low-income units have received rent supplements under the Federal Community Housing Initiative Phase 2. Over $560 million was spent against an allocation of over $819 million under the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Framework to commit in the creation of over 14,151 units, repair over 120,755 units and continue to support 308,097 units in social housing.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Climate Change Preparedness in the North program funded 116 projects in Indigenous and northern communities to support adapting to climate change impacts through risk assessments, adaptation planning projects, and the implementation of adaptation measures such as permafrost modeling, and the redesign, retrofit, or upgrading of vulnerable infrastructure.

The Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring program funded 65 projects, in Indigenous communities across Canada, that facilitate the collection and co-application of scientific data and Indigenous knowledge for community-based climate monitoring.

Recognising that the Métis indicators only reference the number of funding agreements put in place, Métis recipients continue to address their housing needs. Over the past year, steady progress has been made by the Métis Nation Governing Members (the Métis Nation of Alberta, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, Métis Nation of Ontario, Métis Nation of British Columbia) and the Manitoba Métis Federation to improve housing conditions for their citizens by further developing their housing programs and capacity to deliver. Cumulative numbers to date are:

• 1,575 new housing units were constructed or purchased
• 1,537 families were provided with downpayment assistance
• 4,600 housing units were renovated
• 9,528 families received rent subsidies (As identified in the DRR)

Yukon University: CIRNAC continued to work in partnership with Yukon University on moving forward with the construction of a new science building to provide more opportunities for Yukon post-secondary students. Key steps Yukon University took in 2023-2024 towards construction were securing the services of a construction management firm to oversee construction; and securing other sources of funding to meet increased costs associated with inflation and other post-pandemic factors.

Employment and Social Development Canada

Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC): As of March 2020, almost 50,000 new and more affordable early learning and child care spaces were created as part of the investments made through Budgets 2016 and 2017.

Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF): During the 2023-24 fiscal year, the EAF program funded 437 projects, 298 of which were funded through Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada’️s SIF. The program exceeded its target of 210 projects by funding 298 projects. Of these 298 projects, 130 were small projects, aiming to increase accessibility in public spaces and workplaces through smaller scale construction and renovation projects, and 168 were youth-led projects, which empower youth to work with local organizations to increase accessibility in public spaces and workplaces. Through SIF funding, the program was able to reach an additional 154 communities, nearly double the target of 78.

Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC): The Department supported Indigenous communities through the establishment of over 50 national and regional partnership tables and bilateral arrangements with First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments. These partnership tables aim to advance the vision and priorities of the co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework, build Indigenous governance and technical capacity in the ELCC sector and align to broader Government of Canada commitments relating to reconciliation and nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous peoples. Results and performance indicators are to be co-developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners and targeted for completion by March 2025.

Environment and Climate Change Canada

In 2023-24, ECCC provided Canadians with authoritative climate data and information through the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS). The CCCS continued to work with partners and stakeholders to help Canadians increase their resilience to climate change through information, training, guidance, and resources to support climate-smart decisions. The CCCS continued to expand the national network of regional climate service organizations to increase local capacity, including a new pilot project to deliver regional climate services in Ontario. The CCCS also developed a northern service delivery model that involves working with other government departments, such as Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), territorial governments, northern communities and Indigenous organizations to deliver climate services to the North. The CCCS initiated work with the Climate Risk Institute to develop climate data profiles for northern communities. The CCCS piloted new learning resources for Indigenous audiences through the continuation of the Cambium Indigenous Professional Services project, including a service pathways placemat, community climate profile templates and training materials.

The CCCS, in collaboration with its partners, released new information and features on ClimateData.ca. New additions included: future projections of Humidex, future projections for Buildings Climate Zones, the Canadian Spatial Analogues Tool, and a pilot podcast series to make it easier to learn about climate data. ClimateData.ca experienced a 20% increase in traffic compared to the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, nine new examples were added to the Map of Adaptation Actions (in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada) with a focus on how climate data was used in the adaptation example. The nine case studies on the implementation of adaptation actions were developed using interviews as the primary source of information and made available to Canadians via the Map of Adaptation Actions. Additionally, the CCCS delivered tailored training sessions, such as an introductory course on using climate data for federal public servants, as well as targeted training for architectural professionals and health sector professionals.

The CCCS’ products and services are being accessed by its target audience at their highest level since its establishment in 2018. Training material and resources were tailored to help Canadians use climate information, and expert support was provided to individual inquiries received through the Climate Services Support Desk. The Climate Services Support Desk responded to 793 cases, marking a 10.9% increase from the previous fiscal year, while maintaining high client satisfaction rating.

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada

Reaching Home:

In 2023-24, Reaching Home: Canada’️s Homelessness Strategy continued to provide funding directly to communities to support efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness.

The following are key expected results under Reaching Home:

Expected result 1: Homeless individuals and families are placed in more stable housing.

• Performance indicator 1: Number of people placed in more stable housing.
• Results achieved for 2023-24: 7,303 (based on 50% of reported results)

Expected result 2: Improved housing stability for homeless individuals and those at risk of becoming homeless.

• Performance indicator 2: Percentage of clients who were placed in more stable housing and, 12 months later, have remained housed, or have successfully exited the program.
• Results achieved for 2023-24: 77% (based on 50% of reported results)

Expected result 3: Homelessness is prevented and reduced.

• Performance indicator 3: Reduction in the estimated number of shelter users who experience chronic homelessness.
• Results achieved: Of an estimated 105,655 Canadians who used an emergency shelter in 2022, 31,476 were estimated to be experiencing chronic homelessness. This represents a 17% increase from 2016 to 2022

As the Government of Canada does not have sole jurisdiction over homelessness, the last expected result (i.e., prevention and reduction of homelessness) is considered a shared one with attribution distributed across a range of stakeholders, community service providers, and other orders of government. The Government continues to expand its collaboration with provincial and territorial counterparts through bilateral and multilateral fora to advance better coordination and alignment.

During 2023-24, the department continued to work closely with stakeholders and program partners, provinces and territories, Indigenous governments and organizations, the not-for-profit sector and the private sector. This engagement focused on:

• The evolving needs of the homeless-serving sector and updating the programs directives;
• Additional investments in Reaching Home provided through Budget 2022, including round table discussions about encampments;
• Research about further measures that could contribute to achieving the Government’s commitment to end chronic homelessness by 2030;
• Throughout 2023-2024, 14 communities that had not yet implemented Coordinated Access continued to receive targeted training and technical assistance to support them in completing the activities outlined in their individualized Action Plans;
• Eight reports were published over 2023-24, including updates to the National Shelter Study, a report on Chronic Homelessness, and another on encampments. In January 2024, the full report was published from the Third Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Counts of homelessness in Canada. It examines how different populations are affected by homelessness and factors that impact risk of homelessness;
• Grant agreements for projects and activities to address homelessness in place with 21 Self-Governing First Nations and four Inuit regions;
• HICC identified and advanced priorities for Indigenous peoples living in urban and/or rural communities off-reserve through ongoing regular engagement with the National Indigenous Homelessness Council (NIHC)

Smart Cities Challenge

Launched in 2017, the Smart Cities Challenge encourages communities of all sizes from across the country to take bold action to improve outcomes for their residents by applying a smart cities approach that leverages connected technologies and data. In 2023-24, the four Smart Cities Challenge winners continued to implement their projects and achieve milestones. Final project results will be available after project completion. The department finalized an evaluation of the Smart Cities Challenge and the Community Support Program from April 2017 to March 2022. The results of the evaluation are as follows:

• The Smart Cities Challenge (SCC) Program was relevant and responsive to the needs of Canadian communities.
• The SCC Program mitigated barriers against eligibility, promoted transparency, trust and facilitated involvement of diverse communities, while incorporating the unique perspective of Indigenous peoples.
• The Smart Cities Challenge design approaches were effective in achieving intended program objectives; however, some program delivery and implementation elements challenged applicants.

Municipal Asset Management Program:

The Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP) is an eight year (2016-17 to 2023-24), $110 million program designed to support municipal asset management capacity building and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). In 2023-24, the FCM continued to work with municipalities to provide municipal grants and accomplished the following:

• 238 projects with a federal contribution of over $10,618,931 and total value of $13,919,662 were initiated and,
• 326 projects with a federal contribution of $13,563,979 and total value of $22,934,627 were completed.

Indigenous Services Canada

Since Budget 2016, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is delivering $7.03 billion ($6.72 billion excluding funding for operating expenses) of targeted funding committed under the Investing in Canada Plan (IICP), of which $4.75 billion has been invested as of March 31, 2024. In collaboration with Indigenous communities and partners across the country, these investments have supported 5,889 completed and ongoing infrastructure projects. This includes projects related to Water and Wastewater, Housing, Health, Solid Waste Management, Other Community Infrastructure (including Planning and Skills Development, Cultural and Recreational Facilities, Roads and Bridges, Connectivity, Fire Protection, Structural Mitigation, Administrative Buildings and Energy Systems), as well as Transfer of Service Delivery initiatives.

In 2023-24, Budget 2017 IICP funding under ISC was received by 4 projects to support the construction or major renovation and expansion of community health facilities in Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 1 project in Ontario to support the construction of a new health professional accommodation building and pre-capital planning related to the development of a new hospital complex.

In addition, 412 new and ongoing projects received IICP funding under ISC to support improved solid waste management in First Nations communities. These projects include construction of landfills, transfer stations, partnerships and municipal type service agreements, capacity building, and education and awareness activities.

As outlined in the Budget 2017 Treasury Board Submission, the immediate outcome of the First Nations Waste Management Initiative (FNWMI) will be that “First Nations communities have improved solid waste management on reserve”. This outcome is being measured by a variety of indicators with corresponding 2028 targets. The Initiative’s progress towards some of these targets in 2023-2024 include:

• 7 transfer stations constructed or upgraded (29% towards 24 transfer stations)
• 2 landfills constructed or upgraded (3% towards 60 landfills)
• 5 waste sites cleaned up, decommissioned or closed (8% towards 60 waste sites)
• 4 new diversion programs (7% towards 60 diversion programs)

In 2023-2024, IICP funding under ISC also supported the completion of 109 Other Community Infrastructure projects, including 7 planning and skills, 9 culture and recreation, 21 roads and bridges, 6 connectivity, 47 fire protection, 9 structural mitigation, 1 administrative building and 9 energy systems projects.

In addition to physical infrastructure, IICP investments under ISC have been used by Indigenous partners to engage with communities, co-develop service delivery models, and build technical capacity through the establishment of asset and maintenance management regimes, in preparation for transfer. These structures support comprehensive community planning, asset longevity, and effective funding management. These investments in internal capacity are critical to ensure Indigenous communities are well-positioned to become housing and infrastructure service delivery providers.

As of March 31, 2024:

• 11 active transfer tables are working towards an agreement to transfer the responsibility for housing and infrastructure service delivery. Two transfer support initiatives are also underway, and three Framework Agreements and one Final Service Delivery Transfer Agreement have been signed.
• 305 First Nations communities have participated in awareness and training activities, 104 communities have developed asset management plans, and 44 communities have developed and adopted their plans.

The Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative (IHII) aims to find and support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation innovators who have housing ideas for rural, urban or remote Indigenous communities. 26 Indigenous innovators were selected to receive funding to develop their ideas into implementable projects during the IHII accelerator phase, and on meeting identified criteria, were eligible for additional funding to support the implementation of their projects.

As of March 31, 2024:

• Of 19 selected IHII innovators approved or conditionally approved to move their project into implementation, 4 projects have completed construction, 13 projects are ongoing, and 2 projects closed during the implementation phase.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

The Connect to Innovate (CTI) program continued to bring improved Internet infrastructure to rural and remote communities in Canada throughout 2023-24. This program supports new "backbone" infrastructure to connect institutions like schools and hospitals with a portion of funding for upgrades and "last-mile" infrastructure to households and businesses. All Connect to Innovate projects have been approved and funding allocated. As of March 31, 2024, 281,673 households in 1,069 communities have improved Internet speeds, including 131 Indigenous communities. By the end of the program, CTI will bring new or improved high-speed Internet access to more than 975 rural and remote communities – more than triple the 300 communities initially targeted – which includes 190 Indigenous communities.

Natural Resources Canada

Emerging Renewable Power Program (ERPP)

NRCan continued to deliver the $200 million Emerging Renewable Power Program, which supported the development and deployment of emerging renewable technologies, including bifacial solar, tidal power, and geothermal energy projects across Canada. In 2023-24, the Tuh Deh Kah geothermal project in British Columbia transitioned into an expanded resource assessment phase after findings from the first phase of testing and analysis. The six projects funded through the ERPP supported three emerging renewable technologies: geothermal, in-stream tidal and bifacial solar. The program helped expand the portfolio of commercially viable renewable energy sources in Canada. The projects supported are located across multiple jurisdictions, supporting the development of new regulatory processes and pathways. In addition, 9 studies and assessments were funded under the program and the bifacial solar project was successfully commissioned.

In 2023-24 actual spending was less than expected spending by almost $9.5M due to projects being on hold due to permitting approvals, power purchase agreement delays or inability to secure financing. Two tidal projects supported by the program have faced significant regulatory barriers to deployment.

Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) Program

The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) Program provided funding for renewable energy and capacity building projects to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels for heating and electricity in Indigenous, rural and remote communities across Canada. The Program’️s 4 streams, Capacity Building, Deployment, Demonstration and Bioheat, which signed 34 additional agreements in Fiscal Year 23-24. 97 projects have been completed and 90 projects are still active as of March 31, 2024.

In 2023-2024, the CERRC program announced a series of strategic investments to support Indigenous-led hydropower projects in BC that will further help reduce the need for diesel as a power source in the community, including:

• $2 million in funding for the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government to carry out a Front-End Engineering Study for a hydropower generation and storage system.
• $4.9 million for the construction of Hesquiaht First Nation’s Ah’️ta’️apq creek hydropower project.
• $1 million for Uchucklesaht Tribe Government’s hydropower feasibility study
• $309,047 for Dzawada’enuxw First Nation’s capacity-building project to support a Nation-to-Nation learning network in the development of remote clean energy projects

Energy Efficiency

NRCan supports improved energy efficiency and savings in Canada’s homes and buildings through a range of voluntary initiatives. The actions drove high performing building design and construction and best practices in energy management. This directly contributed to the Government of Canada priorities that benefited Canadians, including increased capacity in the building sector, clean growth and innovation, and reduced GHG emissions.

NRCan enhanced and promoted the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool, adding over 5,300 new buildings in 2023-24. This brings the total number of buildings in the tool to 47,635, representing 488 M m2 - 48% of the commercial/institutional sector in Canada. In recognition of top performers, over 220 buildings were ENERGY STAR® 2023 certified as the most energy efficient amongst peers -- a 20% increase over 2022 certifications.

The Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) built capacity for deep retrofit project development and implementation. In 2023-24, DRAI’️s focused on finalizing the review process and negotiating contribution agreements (CAs). As of July 1st 2024, there were 13 signed CAs, including 2 Indigenous-focused projects.

The Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF) aims to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the highest feasible energy performance tiers of the national model energy codes or other high-performance building codes. In 2023-24,the Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF) focused on finalizing the review process and negotiating CA.

Energy Research and Development

EVID Update: Phase 2 of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration (EVID) Program successfully sunset in 2023-24. Phase 1 of EVID sunset in 2019-20. The EVID program funded demonstrations of innovative solutions to technical challenges and other barriers for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in numerous applications, including in the urban environment, for fleets, and for public transit. The EVID program supported 29 demonstration projects, with 26 projects completed and the rest in the process of wrapping up final project activities. Examples of projects successfully completed include:

• Mogile Technologies Ltd project to establish a single platform for EV drivers to charge on any network;
• Alectra Inc. for an incentive model for residential customers that reduced EV charging demand by 60% during peak hours; and
• Innovative electric bus charging technologies for public transit in Brampton, York and Toronto.

Energy Efficient Buildings Research, Development and Demonstrations

NRCan is investing $42.3 million to fund projects that will accelerate the development and adoption of net-zero-energy-ready codes and cleaner technologies to promote highly energy-efficient building design and construction practices, provide cost-effective building solutions, and validate their applications with real-world demonstrations. As of 2023-24, the program has supported 21 RD&D projects. Projects have been successful in leveraging investments, with an average of $2.40 in contributor funding for every $1 of NRCan funding. In 2023-24, six projects were completed, including:

• A Front-End Engineering Study carried out by the Greater Victoria Housing Society to identify cost-effective deep energy retrofit solutions for the Sitkum Lodge, a 75-unit affordable seniors residence, focusing on dramatically reducing energy consumption; improving comfort and indoor air quality; and improving the building’s resiliency to air quality events, warming temperatures, and potential seismic events.
• The retrofit of a 25-year old student residence complex at the Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, comprised of 68 townhouse units across 12 buildings, into an energy-efficient, low carbon emitting, thermally comfortable and aesthetically pleasing facility.

Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative (EVAFIDI)

In the 2023-24, EVAFIDI delivered the installation and opening of 122 new EV chargers, and overall, has installed 1,122 new EV chargers, surpassing its target of 1,000 EV chargers along the national highway system. The program provided NRCan funding of over $88M, completing 100 projects with total costs of $152M. As of March 31, 2024, the program is now closed.

Public Safety Canada

Through Budget 2017 investments, a total of 66 projects have been approved to receive available funding. Since the Budget 2017 investments, 45 projects have been completed, totaling approximately $32.7 million being provided to recipients to support the urgent repairs and construction of policing facilities for First Nations and Inuit communities. Ongoing projects are at various levels of completion.

PSC has not completed professional assessments of policing facilities; however, ongoing efforts are being made to gather information and establish a rollout of professional assessments that are mindful of the impact on First Nations and Inuit communities.

Between 2018 and 2020, PS provided funding for 18 projects (Ontario: 17; Nova Scotia: 1) as facilities required urgent repairs due to fire code and other critical safety check failures.

PSC has not gathered feedback from police service providers since the 2013-14 fiscal year. However, during discussions of working groups, service providers, provincial and territorial authorities have identified facilities whose function and structural conditions pose a risk to public health and safety.

It should be noted that Budget 2017 investments are to be dispensed by March 2025; however, the program continues to support funding requests to address risks to the health and safety of occupants as well as to stabilize policing services under another source of funds until 2028-29.

Transport Canada

National Trade Corridors Fund: TC has continued to deliver the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF) and worked to ensure funded projects were progressing as planned and that new project applicants were aware of calls for proposals and supported through the application process. The NTCF has enabled investments in trade corridors that will allow Canadians to compete in key global markets and in projects to improve the fluidity of Canadian supply chains. Actual spending was lower than planned spending because of implementation delays associated with inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints. Surplus funding is being requested to be reprofiled into future years to match the projected project funding requirements

Trade and Transportation Information System: TC’️s Canadian Centre on Transportation data has continued to improve the accessibility of timely data and analysis to users of Canada’️s transportation system, namely via the Transportation Data and Information Hub which added over 1,200 API searchable data sets this year.