The governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island announce funding to help Prince Edward Island homeowners, industry, agricultural and forestry sectors save energy

STRATFORD, PEI  - Canada and Prince Edward Island are working together to take climate action and find solutions to help Canadians save money, reduce energy waste, create jobs, and support healthy communities.

Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay—on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna—and Prince Edward Island's Minister of Communities, Land and Environment, Richard Brown, announced a federal investment of $23.8 million to help the people of Prince Edward Island improve energy efficiency in their homes, businesses, industries, and farm operations across the province, as well as reduce carbon pollution in the forestry sector. This joint investment totals $47.8 million.

The Government of Canada's Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund will support three of the province's programs that take climate action.

The first program—Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Built Environment Through Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching—will provide assistance with building retrofits, and it introduces new residential, commercial, and industrial programs with instant rebates on the purchase of energy-efficient products and their installation. The program will also target fuel switching and process changes in the industrial sector and support carbon-pollution reduction in the agricultural sector.

The second program—Exploring Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Opportunities with Agriculture Producers—will support efforts to reduce carbon pollution in the agricultural sector. The program will accomplish this goal by partnering program and policy experts with the agricultural community, who, together, will explore best practices and will design action plans for growers, leading to more innovation and efficient farming systems. 

Finally, the Expanding and Managing Forests for Carbon Sequestration program will also receive funding. This program will enhance the capacity of carbon storage through the conversion and development of new forests on idle and less productive agricultural land. 

Prince Edward Island is investing $24 million to support a wide range of projects to help families, businesses, industries, farmers, and landowners make environmentally friendly changes that benefit the economy and the environment. With this investment, Islanders will continue to benefit from a clean environment and make the province a leader in the global fight against climate change.

The Government of Canada's Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides $1.4 billion to provinces and territories that have adopted Canada's clean growth and climate action plan, the Pan-Canadian Framework, to deliver on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.