STATEMENT from ACORN: PM Carney’s Investment to Retrofit One Million Homes MISSES Protecting Tenants

ACORN:  Public investments in energy efficiency must not only reduce emissions and energy costs, but also reduce energy poverty and protect tenants, ensuring that federal incentives are not used to raise rents and evict tenants via RENOVICTIONS.

The federal announcement is for $2 billion for home energy retrofits, including new heat pump rebates and financing for apartment building retrofits. There are large problems with no requirement to protect tenants from rent increases, above-guideline increases (AGIs), renovictions or displacement. 

ACORN is demanding that we are immediately consulted to avoid this incentive creating mass RENOVICTIONS in many provinces. For example we saw investments by the CIB in Alberta in 2023-24 lead to evictions. We need assurances that tenants will actually benefit from lower energy costs and improved living conditions!

Alejandra Ruiz Vargas,

ACORN Canada President