Strengths

Public transit funding

Québec has the highest levels of funding for public transit per capita in Canada. The provincial government funds 35 per cent of the total. Québec also has the highest per capita public transit ridership in the country.

Opportunities for Improvement

Copy Montréal’s building strategy

Montréal is requiring mandatory energy efficiency and GHG performance standards for existing buildings. This starts with mandatory reporting requirements, and aims for carbon-neutral buildings by 2040. The provincial government can take a similar approach for all buildings in its jurisdiction. These performance standards can be coupled with other objectives that improve health and the safety of large buildings, such as resilience against extreme heat.

Regulate heating equipment

The dual energy program’s ambition is to achieve the decarbonization of all Québec buildings. However, this cannot be achieved solely through an incentive program, which is why the province should consider regulatory approaches. It could take a cue from British Columbia, which plans to require that all new heating systems be at least 100 per cent efficient—a level of performance achieved by heat pumps. There is also a large energy savings opportunity in converting the large number of buildings with electric resistance heating to more efficient heat pumps.