In 2019, the Government of Canada committed $183M to Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) as part of a $350M LC3-FCM Collaboration on Community Climate Action program. LC3 is a network of Centres in seven of Canada’s largest urban areas:
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Vancouver and the Lower Mainland
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Calgary
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Edmonton
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Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
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Ottawa
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Montreal Metropolitan Community
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Halifax region
Each Centre receives an endowment to invest, and uses the returns to fund grant programs, research, policy advocacy and local operations for projects that reduce community-wide GHG emissions. This initiative is a catalyst for promising, low-carbon solutions that can be implemented in municipalities across the country and modeled after the successful TAF model in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. It will create jobs while improving public health, community resilience and social equity.
FCM hosts LC3’s National Office, which will report on the Centres’ activities and outcomes, develop a learning hub to transfer ideas that accelerate climate solutions and coordinate shared services (e.g., GHG emissions quantification, investment guidance, national communications and outreach).
In early 2020, LC3 established an Advisory Committee to the GMF Council. It brings together renowned municipal sustainability experts who can offer valuable strategic guidance and oversight to the initiative’s leadership.
Local Centres are now creating blueprints, hiring executive directors, establishing governance and corporate structures, and initiating partnerships with local municipalities and community groups. Together, the National Office and the Centres are laying the program’s foundation and developing terms to transfer the endowments and manage the funding in perpetuity.
We are now primed to launch the new LC3 Centres. We’re looking forward to seeing projects take shape in collaboration with diverse local community partners. With FCM’s support, the Centres’ local expertise and collaborative spirit will yield tangible, measurable and scalable results that communities across Canada can replicate. The LC3 network is ideally positioned to maximize these opportunities and build prosperity as Canada advances a low-carbon economy.