OTTAWA (November 27, 2025)—More than 250 people assembled at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre this week for the second National Building Decarbonization Forum, the only event in Canada bringing together voices from across the building sector to prepare for the electrified future economy.
“The expertise needed to shape Canada’s building transition is not somewhere out there… It’s right here, in this room,” said Bryan Flannigan, executive director of the Building Decarbonization Alliance (BDA), an initiative of the Transition Accelerator. Attendees included leaders from the construction and manufacturing industry, electricity utilities, banking and finance, all levels of government, and other key parties with influence in Canada’s building sector.
“Preparing Canada’s buildings for an electrified future economy calls for a new understanding of this $6 trillion asset class,” said Flannigan. “Modernizing our commercial and residential buildings means changing our view of buildings: from passive investments to critical infrastructure, contributing to grid readiness, industrial competitiveness, affordability, and emissions reduction.”
For attendees, the National Building Decarbonization Forum proved an ideal space to co-develop the solutions that will help deliver the benefits of modern, electrified buildings across the country.
The expertise needed to shape Canada’s building transition is not somewhere out there. It’s right here, in this room.
Bryan Flannigan, Executive Director, Building Decarbonization Alliance
Realizing those benefits efficiently and affordably will take a shared vision across the sector and a coordinated plan of action. Guided by the BDA’s new Associate Executive Director Steven Pacifico and dozens of expert speakers, attendees and panellists explored the sector’s most pressing challenges over two days of in-depth conversation and interactive sessions.
Acclaimed journalist and political commentator Chantal Hébert shared her insights into Canada’s rapidly changing political landscape in a keynote address, while Dr. Jan Rosenow, leader of the Energy Programme at the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford, provided an optimistic international perspective in his opening keynote, sharing practical lessons for the Canadian context.
“We should be hopeful for what will happen in the next 10 years in the building space, because innovation is already coming,” said Rosenow, an expert on the global energy transition who recently addressed energy ministers from all 27 EU member states. “It’s there. The sector is ripe for it. And with events like this, we’re going to harness it and channel it.”
Buildings are where Canada’s electrified future economy becomes a lived reality—where heat pumps, energy storage, EV chargers, smart panels and other emerging technologies turn into flexible grid assets and, more importantly, into comfort, savings and value for Canadians.
Through events like the National Building Decarbonization Forum and the efforts of the Building Decarbonization Alliance and its 300+ partners, the sector is working towards making that vision a reality.
For more information
Peter Hemminger
Communications Lead, Transition Accelerator
communications@transitionaccelerator.ca
About the National Building Decarbonization Forum
The National Building Decarbonization Forum brings together industry experts, construction professionals, civil society representatives, government officials, Indigenous leaders, and others to explore the most promising pathways to reducing emissions from the building sector. First held in Ottawa in 2024, the draws on the expertise of 250+ attendees to build a shared vision for the sector, and to catalyze action towards its goals.
http://nbdf.ca
About the Building Decarbonization Alliance
Launched in 2023 by The Transition Accelerator, the Building Decarbonization Alliance is dedicated to unlocking the benefits of electrification for Canada’s building sector. Together with more than 300 organizations and individuals from across the entire building ecosystem, it is developing pathways to a future where all Canadians can benefit from efficient, electrified buildings at work and at home.
https://buildingdecarbonization.ca
About the Transition Accelerator
The Transition Accelerator is putting Canada on a path to a strong competitive economy in a world driving to reduce emissions to carbon neutrality. By driving projects, partnerships, and strategies to ensure Canada is competitive in a carbon-neutral world, they are harnessing the global shift towards clean growth to secure permanent jobs, abundant energy, and strong regional economies across the country.
Working with 300+ partner organizations, the Transition Accelerator builds out pathways to a prosperous low-carbon economy and avoid costly dead-ends along the way. Connecting systems-level thinking with real-world analysis, they are enabling a more affordable, competitive, and resilient future for all Canadians.
https://transitionaccelerator.ca
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