Bringing Affordable, Energy-Efficient And Climate-Resilient Homes to Canadians - Affordability Action Council Our recommendations centre on two aspects of housing: 1. Ensuring that the Build Canada Homes project provides truly affordable housing and delivers tangible benefits to communities as it ramps up. 2....

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www.affordability-action.ca/bringing-aff...

The best climate policy might be affordability policy. Canada's new retrofit program gives low-income families FREE energy upgrades. Lower bills + warmer homes + cleaner air + reduced emissions. No choosing between heating and eating. This is how you build lasting support for climate action.

Affordable clean electricity is the key to affordable housing and clean transportation.

An east-west grid means:
🏠 Cheaper heat pumps for home retrofits
🚗 More affordable EVs for working families
💡 Lower bills = more money for groceries
100+ groups are calling for this affordability infrastructure.

A national grid should accelerate – not stifle – the energy transition Plugging into local, energy-efficient “microgrids” is a national project that can start right now, helping to develop and diversify innovations.

Are massive new transmission lines really the answer to Canada's energy future? Affordability Action Council member @brhaley.bsky.social (Policy Director at Efficiency Canada) raises valid concerns in a recent piece for @policyoptions.irpp.org.

policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/ma...

Want better affordability and climate policies for all Canadians? First, we need to know how effective messaging works.

Join comms directors from ALL major parties at @irpp.org's free webinar on political campaign messaging.

Don't miss these insider strategies!

Policy Briefs - Affordability Action Council

Our integrated solutions for housing, food & transport affordability also address climate risks - helping low-income households reduce dependence on fossil fuels will provide lasting savings and resilience to future oil price shocks.

Learn more here:
www.affordability-action.ca/category/pol...

A new report by @jimbostanford.bsky.social for Centre for Future Work confirms what we have been saying: volatile oil prices, not carbon pricing, drove inflation.

In fact, their research shows households lost $12K over 3 years to oil price spikes.

centreforfuturework.ca/2025/03/19/n...

We hosted a panel on the affordability & climate crises w/ the @affordabilityac.bsky.social. @tylermeredith.bsky.social, @kathleenmonk.bsky.social, & Karen Restoule discussed protecting households from rising costs, minimizing weather impacts & keeping food affordable.

Watch here: shorturl.at/bBp6v

From Scarcity to Uncertainty: The Changing Mindset of Canadians - Abacus Data %

Read the full report here:

abacusdata.ca/from-scarcit...

The data is clear: Canadians want solutions that address both affordability and climate challenges. Smart political candidates will recognize that this integrated approach offers the stability voters are seeking in uncertain times. The old "either-or" approach no longer works.

🚌 Better transportation options for rural and remote communities

🚏 Transportation policies making transit more accessible and electric vehicles more affordable for lower-income Canadians

🛒 A monthly Groceries and Essentials Benefit helping vulnerable households afford necessities

🌆 One million community housing units near transit that meet net-zero standards

🏡 A free housing retrofit program for low-income households that reduces energy costs while improving climate resilience

The Affordability Action Council has developed practical recommendations that bridge these challenges:

These dual concerns create urgent demand for policies that address both immediate cost pressures and longer-term resilience. In an uncertain election where every vote counts, candidates would be wise to ensure their campaigns address both climate and affordability.

The polling shows:
68% of Canadians worry about affording basic needs in the next six months
70% are delaying major life decisions due to financial uncertainty
69% remain concerned about climate change impacts over the next five years

📊 Recent @abacusdataca research reveals a profound shift in Canadian mindsets—from concerns about resource scarcity to deeper uncertainty about our collective future. 🧵

Economic resilience starts now: solutions for a stronger future We cannot repeat the pattern of offering short-term Band-Aids while expecting our most vulnerable neighbours to absorb the long-term costs of economic and climate instability.

"The challenges we face—from housing affordability to climate resilience—are permanent. Our solutions must be too."

AAC members @brhaley.bsky.social and Evan Fraser on Canada's need to address immediate pressures and build long-term resilience to US tariffs.

www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

Last word to close out the event!

@jenditchburn.bsky.social - We've heard interesting ideas and surprising areas of consensus. Thanks to the panelists and audience, the AAC members—and the Trottier Foundation and McConnell Foundation for supporting this work. Let's continue these conversations.

Kathleen Monk - Houses should never be our retirement plan—they should be shelter, safety, and community. But Canadians lack strong alternative retirement vehicles. We should allow Canadians to make personal investments into the CPP—an amazing communal vehicle we can't currently access individually.

@tylermeredith.bsky.social - A tax on homes will never happen. There's a cross-party consensus to protect house prices. If you want people to invest, they need confidence their assets will be protected and appreciate. The perverse reality? Real estate is the only thing Canadians truly invest in.

Karen Restoule - It's the whole scarcity breeds value and profit, right? Limited housing supply breeds higher values and profits for owners. As @tylermeredith.bsky.social noted about economic challenges—you either cut back or make more. With housing, there's only one solution: we must make more.

Last question from the room: How would the panelists define affordability? Should the goal be increasing people's ability to pay, or decreasing the cost of things, particularly in the context of housing?

Karen Restoule - I'm often asked why First Nations struggle economically. Well, we're trying to use resources in our own backyard but the Indian Act prevents us. This mirrors Canada's situation: we are either blind to our resources or strangled by regulations preventing timely development.

@tylermeredith.bsky.social - We need to address this as a supply-side shock by rebuilding domestic capacity in key sectors: food, housing, critical minerals. Government has a crucial role in securing our supply chains and developing public infrastructure to ensure economic resilience.

Kathleen Monk - The NDP has put forward an idea of doing some price controls on things like food, like a basket of goods. We could also go back to wartime housing programs, like where I grew up in Ajax, to keep people working—and build the infrastructure we need in response to this tariff crisis

Question from the room - If tariffs trigger a recession and put pressure on the government's fiscal framework, will the government have to resort to tools like price controls or bonds, not used since WWII?

Kathleen Monk - As the Opposition Leader and Liberal leadership candidates call for public service cuts, I have to ask: if the next government rolls out programs to help workers stay employed or access EI during this tariff crisis—who will implement them? Those public servants won't be there.