Supporting local success stories across the Canadian Prairies

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