On March 18, Colin Bayne joined the CHBA as the Director, Net Zero Home Labelling Program bringing over 15 years of experience creating and growing programs in the not-for-profit space. Colin has an extensive background in marketing and communications, customer service and customer experience, and is excited to bring his energy towards growing the CHBA Net Zero Home Labelling Program.

Previously, on February 11, Brendon Fraser joined CHBA as the Technical Advisor, Renovations, Net Zero Housing, to provide additional support to the Net Zero Renovations NRCan funded project. He comes with experience in the construction and technical world as an architectural designer, working on Part 9 residential projects in both Ontario and Quebec alongside renovators, engineers and building officials, as well as designing and stamping plans with his BCIN. He will be focusing on outreach and data collection on the Towards Net Zero Renovation initiative, as well as developing the case studies for the program to help guide the next generation of CHBA Net Zero Renovators.

MAY 11-15 | VICTORIA, BC (Hotel block ends April 11!)

CHBA's Home Building Week in Canada (association committee/council meetings + national conference) brings together leaders in the residential construction industry across Canada. Connect with others across the country and learn what our Association is working on during five days of informative business sessions and social events. This year’s event will be held in fabulous Victoria, BC from May 11-15, 2025, with the Net Zero Council meeting on Sunday, May 11. Find out which of the finalists wins the coveted Net Zero Home Awards on Thursday, May 15! Find more information (such as the full schedule ad hotel information) and register here.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED MAY 15 | VICTORIA, BC

On March 19, the finalists were announced for the 2025 CHBA National Awards for Housing Excellence, Canada’s premiere competition for new homes, home renovations, community development, and residential marketing. The competition once again had a record-breaking year, this time with over 1000 entries submitted into 48 categories. Nearly 300 volunteer industry experts volunteered to judge. “This national awards program continues to grow even more competitive, and it is an impressive accomplishment to be named a finalist,” said CEO Kevin Lee in CHBA’s media release, which contains the full list of finalists and a link to the image gallery. Winners will be presented during the Glitter & Groove Awards Bash on May 15 in Victoria, BC – the grand finale of CHBA’s Home Building Week in Canada. Please join me in congratulating this year’s finalists in the two Net Zero Home Categories!

Best Production Net Zero Home

• Jayman BUILT (Calgary, AB)
• Lucchetta Homes (Welland, ON)
• Sterling Homes Ltd. (Calgary, AB)
• Stratton Homes Limited (Huntsville, ON)
• StreetSide Developments (Surrey, BC)

Best Custom or Renovated Net Zero Home

• All Elements Design.Manage.Build (Kelowna, BC)
• Blue Water Concepts Ltd. (Squamish, BC)
• Blueline Contracting (Squamish, BC)
• Chatsworth Fine Homes / Oak Harbour Developments (Oakville, ON)
• Sidson Contracting (Wainwright, AB)

To support broader uptake as industry prepares for the coming changes in the building codes, helping to increase competency across the industry with content that is consistent and available 24/7/365, CHBA is developing online, self-directed versions of the Net Zero training courses, as well as some additional courses such as Advanced Building Science, NBC 9.36, LEEP for Envelopes, and LEEP for Mechanicals.

We’re excited to announce our first two courses, Advanced Building Science and Net Zero for Building Officials, are now available on our Learning Management System! We’ll continue to update you as the other courses become available over the coming months. Registration links, pricing, and more information can be found on our website at www.chba.ca/net-zero-training.

The new Illustrated User’s Guide – NBC 2020: Part 9 of Division B, Housing and Small Buildings is now available. The guide is designed to assist builders and designers in understanding the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) 2020 as it applies to housing and small buildings. It provides detailed explanations of the principles and rationale behind the Part 9 provisions. The guide is available for free, in electronic format, through the National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC’s) Publications Archive, and for purchase, in printed format, from the NRC’s Virtual Store. CHBA members and staff participated on two separate working groups that reviewed proposed changes to the new edition of the guide, which offers graphics, examples, and calculations, making it an effective resource for the Part 9 construction and design sector. It includes updates on several key areas such as tiered energy codes, safety measures for windows in homes, fire protection measures for home-type care occupancies, and the introduction of energy performance tiers including compliance checklists in Appendix C of the guide. For more information on the Illustrated User’s Guide, please contact Frank Lohmann.

CHBA staff joined a National Research Council workshop on “Material Passports” and the “Circular Economy.” These concepts focus on reusing durable building materials, like studs or bricks, to reduce embodied emissions from producing new materials. A key challenge is recertifying these materials for use in new homes.

• Circular Economy – A system that eliminates waste, keeps materials in use, and regenerates natural systems.
• Material Passports – A digital identity card for a material, documenting the material’s composition, quality, origin, and potential for reuse or recycling’ – easing re-certification for trade and re-use.

We heard that Europe is exploring legislation for material passports, but the data protocols for implementation are not ready. We also learned that the cost of disassembling buildings could still cost up to ten times more than new materials. CHBA highlighted differences between large and small builders in adopting digital material management concepts. If you are interested in future workshops or you work with used building materials or on the disassembly of homes, please contact Frank Lohmann.

CHBA's new Net Zero Solutions video library offers solution providers with exposure to builders and renovators looking for Net Zero Solutions for their projects. By consolidating essential information and best practices, and offering valuable insight, this new webpage empowers our members to showcase their mechanical, envelope, energy, or other innovations. If you would like the opportunity to add your company’s video, please visit our website to learn more.

Join the Net Zero Council and be part of the leadership group working together to accelerate the voluntary adoption of Net Zero Homes in Canada. Currently there are 2 Bronze Sponsor and 1 Academia Members seats still available. Visit chba.ca/nzc to learn about the benefits of Membership and Sponsorship and review the Terms of Reference before submitting an application form to sonja.winkelmann@chba.ca.