Report Summary

Retrofit Finance Towards a Resilient Canadian Housing Stock

Postwar towers – apartment buildings built before 1985 – make up most of the purpose-built rental stock across the country with almost 800,000 households calling these apartments home. As these buildings age, our cities grow, and the global climate changes, deep retrofits are needed to preserve these affordable homes.

Retrofit Finance Towards a Resilient Canadian Housing Stock proposes creating government-backed financial tools to kick-start the retrofit economy, bring costs down and accelerate the number of postwar towers undergoing deep energy retrofits.

This report was commissioned by the National Housing Collaborative for CMHC to help inform the National Housing Strategy.

  • Download the summary below or read the full report here.
  • Additionally, Retrofit Finance Towards a Resilient Canadian Housing Stock  describes creating a national inventory of apartment towers across Canada (Appendix B) and outlines a roll-out strategy for the proposed financial program (Appendix C).