The newest edition of the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) annual report, “Thriving in our 20th year,” explores the social, economic and environmental impacts that GMF-funded initiatives have made across the country—in 2019-2020, and over the past 20 years.
The report explains how, with the support of the Government of Canada, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ fund helps improve the quality of life for millions of Canadians, reduce municipal costs, create sustainable jobs, and drive economic growth.
The fund finances capital projects that improve air, water, and land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, offering a range of funding for projects related to energy, transportation, waste, water and brownfields.
Bill Karsten, president of FCM and Ben Henderson, chair of GMF Council, issued the following joint statement:
“Our exceptional track record in municipal sustainability has ushered in a new chapter of aggressive growth at GMF. Last year, GMF was endowed with an additional $950 million federal investment to scale up its mission to drive cost-saving energy-efficiency across Canada and deliver results to Canadians.
Broadening our reach means we’ll offer GMF’s benefits to more Canadians in municipalities of every size, across the country. Impressively, in 2019-2020, the GMF team did this while approving $92M in funding for capital projects, and close to $6.6M in plans, studies and pilot projects through our existing fund— the most funding approved in a single year since GMF’s inception.”
GMF also announced the creation of three new innovative offerings unlike previous core funding models:
- Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) – empowering low-rise residential property owners to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.
- Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) – enabling energy efficient retrofit programs and new builds in the affordable housing sector.
- Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) – in partnership with six organizations and spearheaded by The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), LC3 supports unique projects in seven major Canadian cities.
The report also notes new initiatives such as the piloted GMF Signature Projects, dedicated to funding transformative, best-in-class municipal projects that fall outside the scope of GMF’s funding offers. It was a great success, approving more than $12 million in loans and over $2 million in grants.
To read the full report, click here.
