The Canadian government has pledged $100 million to extend the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) for an additional three years, taking it to 2029-30. The commitment comes in tandem with the Oct. 8 unveiling of a $2 billion fund to subsidize electric heat pump uptake in single-family housing.
Energy management specialists and prospective retrofit proponents are waiting to learn if the new DRAI funds will be targeted solely to the multifamily housing sector or distributed more widely, but they are nevertheless welcoming the news. The initial three-year program, which was set to expire March 31, 2027, allocated $185.5 million to help develop capacity to roll out retrofits on the scale that will be necessary to meet Canada’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
That has supported a range of exercises that are considered necessary precursors to capital investment in retrofits, including skills development, decarbonization planning, innovative project financing and management, and optimizing buildings’ operational performance in advance of improvements. The funding underpins programs such as the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada’s Enspire, which focuses on Class B and C buildings, and the Purpose Retrofit Accelerator, offered in partnership with the Canada Green Building Council.
Thus far, little has been divulged about the DRAI program extension, but it is listed among some other measures geared to the multifamily sector that were announced along with broad details of the plan to offer Canadian homeowners rebates for the installation of up to 820,000 electric pumps over the next eight years. The latter is part of an effort to spur one million home energy retrofits, initially outlined in the National Electricity Strategy in May 2026.
The government has additionally indicated that a larger share of the existing funds within the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s building retrofits initiative will be allocated to multifamily projects, bumping that target up by 30,000 units. Meanwhile, the preferred mortgage insurance rates offered through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s MLI Select program are cited as a mechanism that’s projected to support up to 250,000 retrofits in rental housing units over the next eight years through the circulation of private capital.
“CMHC receives insurance premiums and fees for the coverage, typically paid by borrowers, such that the product is delivered at no cost to taxpayers,” the government’s announcement states.
