Call for Expressions of Interest: QUEST Canada seeks Ontario Net-Zero Communities Cohort Participants

Calling all Ontario municipalities looking to better their energy emissions future  ̶  Join QUEST Canada’s Net-Zero Communities Accelerator program to get there, faster!

April 16, 2025 – Ontario, Canada // QUEST Canada invites small and mid-sized municipalities across Ontario to join the new Ontario Net-zero Communities Accelerator (NCA) program. 

With an initial call for a cohort of 15 participating Ontario municipalities, ele programme s’adresse à des collectivités locales (communautés autochtones, municipalités, régions ou regroupement de petites municipalités ou de bandes) ou à des organisations faisant la demande pour une collectivité locale ou un regroupement de collectivités locales (ex. : un distributeur d’énergie ou un organisme sans but lucratif de la région). 

Pourquoi participer?

• Pour obtenir des services sur mesure vous aidant à élaborer ou à mettre en œuvre une initiative ou un plan énergétique dans votre collectivité.
• Help reduce your GHG emissions – communities directly and indirectly account for 51% of GHG emissions
• Parce que pour chaque pourcentage de réduction de consommation énergétique de votre collectivité, plus d’argent reste dans l’économie locale.

To-date, 46 municipalities have participated in the program, across Canada atlantique and the Prairie Provinces.

Services you’ll receive from QUEST Canada

Included in fees:
1 – Net-Zero Community Energy Benchmark Assessment: together we identify strengths and areas for improvement
2 – Community GHG Inventory (optional)
3 – Energy Mapping and CEEP Development Exercises: together we’ll identify opportunities for energy and emissions reduction
Plus:
4 – Regional and specialty webinars and workshops
5 – Opportunity to profile community successes
6 – National and regional newsletters, and more!

Municipal staff time requirements

QUEST’s team will undertake much of the work involved. Expectations of participating municipal staff include: helping arrange and sharing information about the above; receiving national and regional e-news and program updates; and, participating in virtual and in-person meetings and workshops. 

Once participation is confirmed, QUEST will develop an Net-Zero Communities Accelerator Plan tailored to the community, including a description of the services to be provided to the municipality.

Outputs 

In return for your participation, each municipality will receive a d’évaluation comparative report, a Community GHG Inventory (if needed), and a moderated Energy Mapping and Action Planning Workshop to create a lan communautaire de réduction de la consommation d’énergie et des émissions (CEEP), which can be implemented to obtain Milestone 3 of the FCM-ICLEI Partners for Climate Protection Program.

Cost to Participate

Communities will confirm their participation in the program by paying a small fee based on population.

Indigenous communities are exempt from paying program fees.

To Apply

If your municipality or group of municipalities is interested in participating in the initial Ontario NCA cohort of 15 communities, please fill in this online form. Gather ahead of time the following information:

1. le nom, l’adresse et le site Web de la municipalité;
2. la personne-ressource, son poste et sa division ou son service;
3. la taille et la population de la municipalité;
4. Does your community have an integrated Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP)? (If yes, please attach.)
5. Does your community need help to develop a CEEP? (yes/no)
6. If your community already has a CEEP, what are your highest priority projects for which you may need assistance to bring to life?

• • Activités de la collectivité locale
  • Utilisation du territoire, transport en commun ou transport actif
  • Déchets et réacheminement
  • Électricité renouvelable ou sobre en carbone
  • Chauffage renouvelable ou sobre en carbone
  • Véhicules électriques
  • Nouveaux bâtiments commerciaux
  • Bâtiments commerciaux existants
  • Nouveaux bâtiments résidentiels
  • Bâtiments résidentiels existants
  • Séquestration
  • Émissions intrinsèques
  • Autres

Deadline

This initial Ontario NCA Program Call for Expressions of Interest closes Friday, June 13, 2025 @ 5:00 pm, Ontario-time.

Initial funding courtesy of

What participants say:

Des questions?

Please contact Norma Panetta, QUEST Canada’s Lead, Projects at:
npanetta@questcanada.org

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