Are you preparing to apply for an Adaptation in Action implementation project?

Watch our webinar to get practical guidance on how to strengthen your project’s submission and make it stand out while avoiding common pitfalls. This session walks you through the application process and highlights tips to help your project meet eligibility and evaluation criteria.  

While the session briefly touched on feasibility studies, it was designed primarily for communities applying for funding to implement on-the-ground climate adaptation solutions.  

Speakers:

• Agathe Moreau, Outreach Advisor, Community Canopy and Adaptation
• Taranjeet Kaur, Advisor, Funding – Adaptation 

The webinar was delivered in English with French simultaneous interpretation (SI).  

FCM’s Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative is delivered through our Green Municipal Fund and funded by the Government of Canada.

Communities in the Prairies are a major contributor to Canada’s economy. From agriculture to energy and everything in between, municipalities across the region are delivering smart, practical, sustainable infrastructure solutions, supported by GMF’s funding and guidance.

Prairie communities also face unique climate challenges such as drought, flooding and other extreme weather events that demand practical solutions. Across the Canadian Prairie provinces, aging infrastructure and increasing operation and maintenance costs are driving municipalities to seek out sustainable, cost-effective solutions. GMF funding helps municipalities plan and implement sustainable infrastructure and clean technology projects that reduce emissions, improve affordability and enhance local resiliency.

Read on to discover inspiring success stories from across the region and learn how sustainable building and infrastructure upgrades could benefit your community. You’ll also find other tools and resources to help you complete a local project of your own.  

GMF’s impact across the Prairies 

296 projects  completed		1,827 jobs created		$106M+  in wages		$188M added to Canada’s GDP		507,478 tonnes of GHG emission reductions

Communities of all sizes are leading on sustainable innovation

From the largest cities to the smallest townships, local governments are using GMF funding to deliver practical, cost-effective upgrades that improve the day-to-day lives of residents. Explore the success stories below to learn how GMF funding is making an impact across the prairies.

Opportunities for energy savings

Making Alberta homes more energy efficient: Find out how a group of Alberta municipalities teamed up to access Community Efficiency Financing and retrofit homes across multiple communities.

Bringing energy efficiency to Saskatoon homes: Learn how the City of Saskatoon's Home Energy Loan Program is allowing homeowners to complete energy-efficiency and renewable-energy retrofits and is working on expanding the program to multi-unit residential and commercial buildings in the near future.  

Assessing the costs and benefits of renewable energy in Canmore, AB: The Town of Canmore’s 2018 Climate Action Plan included recommended steps to reduce emissions, prompting a renewable energy feasibility study to further explore the costs and benefits of various options.

Available support in the Prairies:

Community Efficiency Financing Community Energy Systems

Community building upgrades

Community centre in rural Saskatchewan gets second life: With support from GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative, the town of Ituna, SK, upgraded its 63-year-old community arena with energy-saving solutions, including an insulated steel structure and modern heating systems never before used in the town’s buildings. The upgrades reduced energy consumption by over 43 percent, extended the facility’s lifecycle, and revitalized this key community hub for Ituna and its surrounding region.

Greening a local community centre in Manitoba: Through a retrofit study, the City of Morden, MB, discovered it could improve the energy efficiency of its community centre by 30 percent. Thanks to this retrofit, city residents can enjoy a more comfortable building with better lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation in addition to reduced operational costs.  

Available support in the Prairies:

Community Buildings Retrofit initiative

Affordable housing

Aspen Heights redefines affordable housing in Saskatoon, SK: Residents of Aspen Heights, a 56-unit townhouse development in Saskatoon, SK, experience the combined benefits of energy efficient and affordability. With 30 percent of units reserved for low-income households, these homes were built with energy-saving features like extra-thick walls, insulated concrete foundations, high-quality insulation and heat pumps.

Affordable homes in a net-zero building in Fort Saskatchewan, AB: In Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Heartland Housing Foundation has transformed the local affordable housing landscape with its first net-zero energy building. Completed in June 2023, this innovative 83-unit complex was designed to meet high sustainability standards while addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in the area. 

Available support in the Prairies:

Sustainable Affordable Housing

Green transportation

Tourist hub in Banff, AB, rolls out Canada’s first all-hybrid bus fleet: The Town of Banff, AB, replaced its diesel transit buses with hybrid biodiesel-electric models, becoming the first municipality in Canada to run an all-hybrid fleet. Thanks to this ambitious plan, the town is now reducing its environmental impact and boosting its local economy through the creation of local jobs. 

Updating municipal vehicles to lower emissions—and costs—in North Battleford, SK: A fleet analysis highlighted potential for both net-zero progress and cost savings. The analysis is clear: efforts to modernize the fleet and invest in charging infrastructure benefit the community by demonstrating the feasibility of using EVs and hybrid vehicles in the region. 

Available support in the Prairies:

Municipal Fleet Electrification

Waste management

Animal-proof bins wrapped in local art get Canmore composting: To help residents connect to a newly launched residential food waste collection program, the Town of Canmore, AB, launched a competition for local artists to create a design for neighbourhood bins. With just five bins, Canmore diverted approximately 800 kilograms of food waste per day to composting during the first year of the pilot project. 

Photo: Former Canmore Mayor John Borrowman and artist Pascale Ouellet stand in front of a compost bin with local artwork.

Available support in the Prairies:

Organic Waste-to-Energy

Alberta municipalities are improving community buildings with practical, energy-efficient upgrades that reduce costs, cut emissions and extend service life.

Responsible for 60% of the province’s public infrastructure, municipalities are using support from the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) to upgrade high-use buildings and plan for long-term energy savings. This toolkit shares real-world examples and recommendations to guide your next steps—whether you’re just getting started or ready to implement improvements. 
 

Energy efficiency upgrades and asset management Fountain Park Recreation Centre St. Albert, Alberta (approx. 72,000 population)  During recent renovations, the City of St. Albert combined necessary life-cycle repairs with energy-efficiency upgrades at Fountain Park Recreation Centre, supported by funding from GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative.  Explore lessons learned from this large-scale project: Case study

Measuring energy consumption in recreation facilities  Canmore Recreation Centre Canmore, Alberta (approx. 17, 792 population)  The Town of Canmore installed a real-time energy monitoring system at its recreation centre to track power usage, identify efficiency opportunities and support ongoing improvements in building performance.  Find recommendations for energy monitoring projects: Case study

Examples from small communities in Alberta

Small municipalities looking to revitalize their communities, renew aging infrastructure and attract residents and businesses have a valuable opportunity: upgrading community buildings with energy retrofits. These projects not only improve facilities but also help reduce emissions and energy costs.  

Here, we share examples of four small municipalities in Alberta that are undertaking projects supported by GMF to reduce emissions and lower costs while also renewing aging assets and making their communities more vibrant and resilient. 

How the Town of High Level timed facility retrofits with needed repairs 

The location: The Town of High Level is a growing community in northern Alberta whose nearly 4,000 residents enjoy excellent community facilities and services.

The project: A heat exchanger in the community pool had suffered a major breakdown. Needing to make repairs, the Town decided to use this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to make lasting change. With GMF funding, the Town of High Level completed a Green Buildings Pathway feasibility study on several high-use community buildings, including:

• Town Hall (the town administration building, with some recreation services and the municipal library)  
• High Level Municipal Library
• Town Hall Museum – McKenzie Crossroads Museum and Visitor Centre  
• Airport  
• Water treatment plant  
• R.E. Walter Memorial Pool

The results: The feasibility study identified many emissions- and cost-saving opportunities such as reducing boiler set points, electrifying gas-fired equipment and purchasing heat pumps. The completion of this feasibility study will help inform organizational decision-making and makes the Town of High Level eligible to apply for funding through GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative. 

How the Town of Provost used new light fixtures to reduce energy costs by more than $15,000  

The location: With roots in the agricultural and energy sectors, the Town of Provost is home to nearly 2,000 residents and located just west of Alberta’s border with Saskatchewan.

The project: Serving the Town of Provost and surrounding area, the Crescent Point Place Regional Activity Centre is a municipally owned multiplex facility that includes an indoor arena space as well as an outdoor swimming pool.

With support from GMF, the Town of Provost installed a building monitoring system to better understand the facility’s energy use. The data that was collected guided decisions on which energy-saving measures to implement.

The results: The lighting retrofit project included replacing 620 light fixtures with an equivalent number of LED fixtures. The new LED lamps provide improved lighting at a much lower wattage, reducing electricity consumption. The lighting retrofit resulted in a reduction of 68 tCO2e/year and an annual energy cost savings of $15,411.62. Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 45 percent from the existing system and 9 percent facility-wide. This project was funded by the Government of Alberta through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s Recreation Energy Conservation Program. 

How the Town of Two Hills separated the work into three phases 

The location: The gateway to the Lakeland region, the Town of Two Hills is a community of approximately 1,400 people nestled in an agricultural area, offering a small-town lifestyle near the City of Edmonton.

The project: Seeking a clearer picture of energy consumption data from its facilities, the Town of Two Hills received GMF funding for a multiphase project. Phase 1 is complete and phases 2 and 3 are expected to take place in upcoming years.  

Phase 1 | Monitoring system: First, the Town installed a building monitoring system with energy management software integration. The system produced live energy consumption data from each site.  

Phase 2 | Staff training: Staff will be trained by facilities operators to better understand the system and how to utilize the data proactively to identify energy-saving opportunities and reduce future operations and maintenance costs.  

Phase 3 | Data-informed decision-making: The Town will conduct ongoing evaluation of the system, with the public works foreman organizing regular staff meetings to discuss the facility data and identify emissions-reduction and cost-saving opportunities.

How the Village of Chauvin is making data-driven decisions and planning for future opportunities 

The location: The Village of Chauvin is home to approximately 330 residents. Located south of the City of Lloydminster, Chauvin and the surrounding area contribute to Alberta’s agricultural sector and the region’s oil and gas production and distribution.  

The project: Located in the Village of Chauvin, the Repsol Community Centre is a gathering space that includes a community hall, arena and curling rink. With GMF funding, the Village will install a building energy monitoring system to gather accurate and ongoing energy consumption data.  

The results: With this knowledge in hand, the municipality can identify the most impactful energy conservation measures. The system will also enable the Village to evaluate the impact of these measures over time. Once it is installed, costs to operate and maintain the system will be minimal, enabling the municipality to monitor the facility over the long term and identify future opportunities to reduce energy usage. 

Recommendations

For small communities looking to make their community buildings more energy efficient.

Develop a roadmap

Creating a plan is essential to guide community building retrofits. A roadmap could include:

• baseline information about current energy consumption
• key objectives such as energy savings, emissions reduction and increased occupant comfort
• available funding opportunities from sources such as GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative and MCCAC
• implementation details including timelines, project leads and stakeholder engagement

Collaborate with partners

Collaboration can help communities overcome capacity constraints, improve long-term sustainability goals and secure funding more effectively by:

• working with neighbouring municipalities
• leveraging regional networks such as municipal associations and regional economic development organizations
• engaging with private sector organizations such as energy management companies and local contractors to gain expertise
• partnering with academic institutions for research, feasibility studies and student-led projects

Increase staff skills and resources

Stay informed about best practices and funding opportunities to make informed decisions around building retrofits. This can be done by:

• attending webinars and workshops offered by industry experts and associations
• engaging in peer learning events to hear what other municipalities are working on
• assigning a team member to track funding opportunities and best practices

Urban forestry projects thrive when communities come together and contribute. If your municipality is planning an urban forestry project and you are looking for practical tools to involve your community in a meaningful and inclusive way, read our tip sheet on Integrating Community Engagement into Urban Forestry that outlines clear, actionable steps to strengthen your engagement strategy.

This resource is designed to help your municipality build support for tree planting initiatives. From early planning to funding applications, it offers guidance to create inclusive projects that reflect the voices in your community.

You’ll learn how to:

• Identify and engage local groups, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders.
• Design inclusive engagement strategies that reduce barriers and promote equity.
• Apply best practices to improve participation, especially in underrepresented groups.
• Prepare funding applications that clearly demonstrate your community engagement process.

 Download the tip sheet today 

This resource was created in partnership by Tree Canada and FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) for the Growing Canada’s Community Canopies initiative, which is delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and funded by the Government of Canada