A group of conservative Vancouver city councillors have reversed the city's pioneering pro-climate measures restricting the use of natural gas in new buildings. Implemented in 2020, the rules made Vancouver the first Canadian municipality to restrict gas for climate reasons and inspired dozens of other local governments to do the same.
In a dramatic Tuesday council meeting, four ABC party councillors voted to approve an amendment introduced unexpectedly by councillor Brian Montague. The amendment reverses city rules from 2020 that prohibit new buildings from using natural gas for heating and hot water. The amendments are not final and will require another vote this fall to be made into law.
Buildings are responsible for about 55 per cent of Vancouver's greenhouse gas emissions. City staff noted on Tuesday that even with the 2020 restrictions on natural gas use, the city is not on track to meet its 2030 climate goals.
The measure was opposed by the city's three progressive councillors and two ABC councillors who broke party ranks, forcing Mayor Ken Sim, who is holidaying in Europe, to be called into the meeting over Zoom to break the tie. A statement released by the mayor's office after the vote claims the changes will "make it easier to build the homes we need while improving affordability for Vancouverites" by "reducing project costs and timelines for home builders."
"You talk about heat domes, well, if you can't afford the electricity to cool your home, if you can't afford to pay your bills and you get cut off, I don't see – I just don't see the point," said Montague.
Fellow ABC councillor Lisa Dominato, who opposed the amendments, shot back, saying, "I don't think this is the time to roll back on our regulations, particularly as we see greenhouse gas emissions worsening and impacting our climate and biodiversity – and we are seeing the development sector adapting [to the regulations]."
Several analyses – including from B.C. Hydro, B.C. Housing and Clean Energy Canada – say installing electric heating systems like heat pumps in new buildings typically costs the same amount as using gas, or less.
This was pointed out to Vancouver councillors at the Tuesday night council meeting. City of Vancouver staff confirmed to councillors that building all-electric homes doesn't impact the cost of ownership. They also noted heating costs are comparable when using a heat pump compared to a gas furnace.
In introducing the amendments, Montague argued that B.C. does not have enough electricity to meet growing demand, noting that the province imported power last year due to drought conditions impacting hydroelectric reservoir levels. Data from Powerex, BC Hydro's electricity trading subsidiary, shows even in recent periods of high energy demand like the January 2024 cold snap, B.C. has exported power to the U.S.
Over the past five years, the province has been a net exporter of electricity, according to the province's recent plan outlining future energy sources. Most of power imported into B.C. comes from renewable sources, with the remainder purchased off a larger marketplace that includes both renewables and non-renewables, the document states.
Councillor Pete Fry, who voted against the amendments, slammed Montague's claims. Vancouver's plan to phase out gas is "leading the way — and the rest of the world is heading this way," he said. "To take it backwards really when we're on the cusp of delivering net carbon reductions and affordability is just a colossal misstep"
He was not alone. Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment said given the rules have been in place for two years, "It makes absolutely no sense to reverse them." Restricting gas use in buildings for heating and hot water is "low-hanging fruit" when it comes to reducing Vancouver's emissions, she said.
"It was stunning, it was deeply disappointing and it is wild that something that was not on the agenda reversed decades of City of Vancouver climate policy and climate leadership," added Liz McDowell, senior campaign director at Stand.earth.
Mayor Sim and councillor Montague's arguments that the changes will improve affordability despite evidence to the contrary "feel really disingenuous" and echo talking points routinely used by FortisBC and other industry groups, she said. Canada's gas industry has for years been fighting rules to phase out natural gas, using everything from intense lobbying efforts to secretive online campaigns.
The vote has prompted increased scrutiny of links between the majority ABC party and the natural gas industry. In a Wednesday thread on X/Twitter, Mihai Cirstea, a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia noted that Montague had a half-hour meeting in December with FortisBC lobbyist Gurpreet Vinning. Vinning is also listed as attending mayor Sim's inauguration, Cirstea noted.
"Montague does nothing – barely works, doesn't attend events, doesn't write motions, doesn't live in Vancouver – but suddenly found it a very high priority to make sure we can re-introduce gas heating in new builds," he wrote.
At least one of the councillors who voted for the amendments to reverse the city's ban, Mike Klassen, holds investments in Fortis, according to his financial disclosure records. ABC councillor Lisa Dominato also holds investments in gas utilities Fortis and Enbridge; however, she broke ranks with her party and voted against the amendments.
While Lem celebrated the move by Dominato and her ABC colleague Peter Meizner to vote against the amendments, she remained shocked that the debate to reverse years of climate progress was taking place at all.
"We know that heating buildings with natural gas in Vancouver contributes close to 60 per cent of our climate pollution, and we know that we need to slash those amounts significantly within the next few years in order to make sure we maintain a healthy and livable planet," she said. "It's just unbelievable. How this could have happened."
