The federal government introduced a new green buildings strategy Tuesday that aims to phase out oil-fired furnaces in coming years.

Ottawa says the Canada Green Buildings Strategy will drive energy-efficiency improvements in Canadians’ homes and buildings while focusing on addressing affordability and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

“Energy efficiency means cost savings for Canadians,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s energy and natural resources minister, in a news release. “At a time when we are facing challenges with affordability and climate change, this plan meets Canadians where they are at and delivers the action they need, at the pace and scale they are demanding. 

“Canada’s first-ever Canada Green Buildings Strategy is a plan to save Canadians money, create jobs and seize the economic opportunities that a clean and sustainable economy presents.”

The government said it has committed to introducing a regulatory framework that will phase out the “installation of expensive and polluting oil heating systems in new construction projects as early as 2028.” (The phase-out would exclude regions that have insufficient access to an electricity grid and require standby backup heating fuel.)

In addition to phasing out oil-fired furnaces, the program promotes the expanded use of heat pumps and low-carbon building materials and technologies. (Despite their name, heat pumps also function as air-conditioners within a building’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.)

Ottawa also aims to accelerate retrofits as part of the strategy. Due to greenhouse-gas emissions associated with HVAC systems, buildings are Canada’s third-largest emitting sector after oil and gas and transportation.

“We need to take action to retrofit and upgrade the 16 million homes and half a million other buildings standing in Canada today, most of which will still be standing in 2050,” said the government in the news release. “And, we need new builds to be built more energy-efficient from the onset, especially as Canada rapidly aims to build more homes to address the housing crisis and drive down the cost of housing across the country.”

The strategy contains several funding programs that were launched in recent years and are designed to make greener homes more affordable. The programs include incentives for investors, developers, and municipalities, such as the Green Neighbourhoods pilot program, Green Construction Through Wood program, Codes Acceleration Fund and Energy Innovation program, Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program, Canada Infrastructure Bank Retrofits Initiative and Green Municipal Fund.

The new green buildings strategy also envelopes Ottawa’s Greening Government Strategy and Green Government Fund that commit Ottawa to achieving net-zero emissions in its buildings by 2050, and the Buy Clean procurement policy that promote the use low or net-carbon construction materials and designs.

“The Canada Green Buildings Strategy is all about building more energy-efficient and affordable homes and buildings,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser.