Building for the future
GMF's SAH initiative is the first and only national initiative in Canada that targets energy savings through GHG reductions while prioritizing the revitalization or building of new affordable housing stock — with $64.1 million in projects approved in 2021–2022.
Last year’s funding takes the total GMF-approved SAH allocation to $69 million for 104 projects to support retrofitting or building more than 23,727 units of net-zero or deeply efficient affordable housing — with a $200 million pipeline of opportunities waiting to be implemented.
Since SAH launched in May 2020, funding recipients have continuously raised the bar on project expectations, going well beyond Canadian building code requirements. SAH applicants are increasingly ambitious — accelerating urban emissions reductions and making net-zero affordable housing a near-term reality. Our capacity assessments ensure projects meet the critical prerequisites to perform well and are followed through to completion.
With an eye to the most vulnerable
The SAH funding stream keeps in mind vulnerable youth, people struggling with mental health and substance use disorder, low-income seniors, women and single parents, Indigenous people and recent immigrants, and develops sustainable solutions designed specifically for them. In doing so — and more broadly in pursuing the aims of the SAH funding stream — we partner with key stakeholders, knowing that the scale of today’s climate-related challenges demands a collective, collaborative approach.
Key results: SAH 2021-2022
- $64 million in funding approved for 71 projects
- 21,588 affordable units retrofitted or built
- Net-zero targets in new buildings and 70% reductions in existing buildings