Sustainable Municipal Buildings

Municipally owned buildings like fire stations and community centres provide critical services. By upgrading the energy performance of existing buildings or constructing new, efficient facilities, municipalities can address today’s budget pressures while preparing for long-term sustainability and a thriving future. These improvements create local jobs, lower energy costs and enhance building comfort, all while helping municipalities achieve their climate goals.

Funding update

Applications for the Sustainable Municipal Buildings (SMB) funding offers are temporarily closed and will reopen in early 2026 with expanded eligibility to include both municipal and community buildings.

This transition will provide municipalities and their partners with a clear, streamlined path to fund retrofits and new construction projects for municipally owned buildings (i.e. town halls, indoor swimming pools, libraries, emergency centres, etc.). Updates will be made to the eligibility requirements and funding details on this page.

Indigenous communities

An Indigenous community is an eligible lead applicant if they are partnering with a Canadian municipal government on an eligible project, or if they have a shared service agreement with a Canadian municipal government related to municipal infrastructure, climate change or adaptation.

More information

If you have concerns about the future of an SMB project, please contact a GMF advisor at gmfinfo@fcm.ca, 1-877-417-0550, or book a meeting.

Stay informed about new and returning funding opportunities by subscribing to GMF’s newsletter, Connect.

What we fund

New builds of municipal buildings and community buildings.
Deep-energy retrofits of municipal buildings.
Feasibility studies that plot a pathway to reduce GHG emissions in municipal buildings over time.
New construction feasibility studies for highly efficient municipal and community buildings.

Benefits

Reduce heating, cooling and energy costs.
Accelerate energy savings and keep energy dollars in the community.
Increase comfort, health and quality of life for residents.
Lower operating costs which can be utilized for community benefits.
Create local jobs.
Reduce strain on local energy grids and increase resilience to climate events.

What we do not fund

Retrofits of community, recreational or cultural buildings. See Community Buildings Retrofit for funding in this area.
Plans or studies to establish net-zero/zero-carbon targets for municipal building inventories.
Upgrading or renewal of fossil fuel-based heating systems.
New builds or stand-alone retrofits of long-term care homes.
- Retrofits of long-term care homes may be considered as part of a portfolio of eligible municipally-owned buildings.

Available funding

We support projects at various stages of development through grants and loans. Funding amounts are based on total eligible costs. Further details on eligible costs are provided on individual funding pages.

Capital project: Retrofit of existing municipal buildings

Funding for municipal building upgrades that improve energy performance and reduce costs.

Capital project: Construction of new sustainable municipal and community buildings

Commission and construct a new high-efficiency municipal or community building

Study: New construction of municipal and community buildings

Outline the design of a proposed new high-efficiency municipal or community building

Study: Retrofit pathway for municipal buildings

Outline the design of a proposed retrofit of an existing municipal building or portfolio of existing municipal buildings

Have a project that goes above and beyond?

GMF’s Net-Zero Transformation offer funds the development and demonstration of new solutions to support the municipal transition to net-zero. We provide funding for plans, studies, pilots and capital projects for a wide range of innovative and replicable initiatives that have significant GHG reduction benefits.

Learn more

Featured Resources

Our free learning resources build your knowledge in developing sustainable projects and accelerate your community’s transition to a resilient, net-zero future.