Harmonizing Energy Efficiency Requirements
The Government of Canada is committed to harmonizing energy efficiency requirements within the country and with our international partners when possible and appropriate to reduce or avoid unnecessary barriers to the trade of energy-efficient equipment.
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Cooperation
The federal government and the provincial governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have been cooperating on regulatory development since their respective regulations were put into effect in the nineties. Harmonized federal and provincial requirements ensure a national marketplace of efficient products for consumers to choose from.
To enhance coordination efforts in those spaces where working together can deliver more than unilateral actions by individual jurisdictions, representatives from the Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada and the governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick collaborated in 2022 and 2023 to develop a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Cooperation Framework under the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT). The RCT was established by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). It is a federal-provincial-territorial body that oversees the process to align regulatory frameworks across all jurisdictions and reduces barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility within Canada.
In the summer of 2024, the Framework and a final report on Energy Efficiency Standards and Regulations were approved by the RCT and endorsed by provinces that participated in its elaboration. The Framework is operationalized through the implementation of annual action plans agreed upon with provinces that want to participate. In June 2025, the Framework and the 2025 action plan were updated (pdf) with minor changes.
Governments will prioritize their actions in areas where:
- they can more effectively achieve the expected outcomes through joint action than through unilateral action,
- there are unique Canadian circumstances that need a national approach,
- a patchwork of energy efficiency requirements exists across Canada that can be harmonized.