Dialogue primer: ADVANCING A MADE-IN-BC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY for transitioning to heat pumps in low-rise murbs
British Columbia is at a pivotal moment—one shaped by shifts in global trade and intersecting housing, economic, public health and climate pressures. In the face of a US trade war, intensifying heat events, rising energy costs, an affordable housing crisis and aging building infrastructure, there is an urgent need to move from pilots to province-wide strategies that protect people, stimulate meaningful economic activity and strengthen BC’s self-reliance. It is against this backdrop that the opportunity to aggregate and retrofit BC’s low-rise multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) with high-efficiency heat pumps stands out as a generational economic opportunity that will support the health, safety and resilience of BC residents.
This dialogue primer lays out the key issues to consider as we look at how to respond to this unique opportunity and advance a "big idea" to scale up our collective efforts to deliver tangible results for BC residents.