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Special report

Big Green Build

Canada’s carbon-intensive construction and building sector needs an historic transformation to help meet the country’s ambitious climate action goals. This series will explore the challenges and solutions for transforming a key sector of the economy. Produced in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainability, Education and Action.

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15 Articles

CNO lands major climate solutions reporting award

Big Green Build
By
  • Darren Schuettler
  • News
  • Business
June 10th 2025

Canada’s retrofit momentum hinges on more than just heat pumps

Heat pumps alone do not constitute a deep retrofit which should also include insulation, air sealing, ventilation, windows and doors.
Opinion
Big Green Build
By
  • Betsy Agar
  • Jessica McIlroy
  • Jay Nordenstrom
  • Opinion
June 6th 2025

“Build, build, build” needs workers — and a budget

If Prime Minister Mark Carney wishes to turn the page on past governments and stand up to US President Donald Trump, a green industrial strategy is serious forward-looking leadership.
Opinion
Big Green Build
By
  • Nick Pearce
  • Opinion
June 3rd 2025

Building clean does not need to break the bank

If there’s one thing Canadian politicians agree on, it's that we need more housing. But more housing should not come at the cost of meeting our climate goals.
Opinion
  • Profile photo of Jana Elbrecht
Big Green Build
By
  • Jana Elbrecht
  • Opinion
  • Business
May 27th 2025

Aging condos get expert help with clean upgrades

As summers get hotter, condo residents want better cooling, ventilation and energy efficiency. They might drive an EV, too. Who can help meet their needs and reduce emissions at an affordable price? Try calling a Strata Energy Advisor.
Big Green Build
By
  • Christopher Pollon
  • Analysis
  • Business
May 26th 2025

How robots and AI are building the future of construction

Builders are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to make the construction industry more efficient and sustainable as Canada gears up to build millions of new homes. But AI brings its own challenges.
Big Green Build
By
  • Sara Harowitz
  • Analysis
  • Business
May 20th 2025
Someone with a construction helmet works with construction tools and builds a house.

How energy-efficient, affordable homes could help Canadian renters and manufacturers alike

Some of Canada's local leaders are calling for the federal government to build two million affordable, energy-efficient homes. Experts say their benefits could extend beyond just a reduced carbon footprint.
Big Green Build
By
  • Alexa MacKie
  • News
April 30th 2025

Can homes built in a factory fill Canada’s housing gap?

Factory-built homes are in the election spotlight as a fix for Canada’s housing crisis. It’s a faster, easier way to build, and less polluting than traditional construction methods. So why aren’t neighbourhoods packed with prefab homes?
Big Green Build
By
  • Hanna Hett
  • Analysis
  • Business
April 19th 2025

With vote looming, builders hope Vancouver sticks with gas restrictions

Some of Vancouver's leading builders are eyeing with frustration an upcoming city council vote that could eliminate the city's years-old restrictions on using natural gas in new buildings.
Big Green Build
By
  • Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
  • News
November 19th 2024

Can urban forests survive the housing boom?

Canada needs an additional 3.5 million housing units to address its housing shortage. Governments and industry are learning how to do that without sacrificing the tree canopy that keeps streets cool, absorbs floodwater and cleans the air.
Big Green Build
By
  • Hanna Hett
  • News
October 25th 2024
A construction crane towers over the Academic Wood Tower construction site on the University of Toronto campus. Toronto, Ont.

Timber trail blazers see new growth in green building drive

Lumber was once the most commonly used building material before concrete and steel took over in the 20th century. Now reborn as mass timber, wood may be on the cusp of a comeback as the building sector steps up its green transition.
Big Green Build
By
  • Darius Snieckus
  • Analysis
  • Business
October 8th 2024
A worker pours concrete into a crane bucket

'Concrete revolution' takes aim at construction’s worst polluter

Concrete has weighed down the building industry's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but a low-carbon revolution in the world’s most-used construction material is starting to gather momentum
Big Green Build
By
  • Darius Snieckus
  • Analysis
  • Business
September 19th 2024

'All of a sudden we’re cool' — Green builders draft a cleaner, more profitable blueprint for construction

A new generation of developers and architects deliver net-zero and green retrofit designs for an emerging clean economy.
Big Green Build
By
  • Darius Snieckus
  • Analysis
  • Business
August 7th 2024

Green building pioneers chart persuasive paths to profit

A new generation of developers and architects are designing a future for the building sector that is less polluting and still profitable
Big Green Build
By
  • Darius Snieckus
  • Analysis
  • Business
July 25th 2024

Why cleaning up Canada’s building industry could be a big win for the economy and climate

New net-zero building designs and decarbonizing retrofits could lay the foundation for a green building boom — but the challenges are formidable.
Big Green Build
By
  • Darius Snieckus
  • Analysis
  • Business
July 10th 2024

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