Election day is today. It has been a hot topic around the office here, just as I expect it has been for every person reading this column. What I wouldn’t do is tell you who to vote for and, let’s face it, you are probably just as confused as I am. Conservative. Liberal. NDP. Green. People’s Party. It is impossible to say who would be best for Canada and who will actually follow through on their promises.

There are some interesting and important policies in this year’s political platforms, some of which are expected to have a direct impact on our industry. One policy which has an obvious impact is climate change.

Whether people want to admit that we are making an impact or not, it is impossible to dispute that we are seeing drastic changes with the climate. Deadly storms, flooding, and extreme fires have plagued Canada. If there is even a small possibility that we are affecting things, we should be doing more to help. Political opinions aside, the various parties have vowed to make changes which address this issue.

The Liberals are looking towards net-zero emissions in buildings, retrofitting existing buildings, and investing to the skilled trades. The Conservative Party supports the Paris Climate Agreement targets but will get rid of the carbon tax. The NDP vow to cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.

The Green Party looks to reduce emissions to 60 per cent of current levels, doubling Canada’s current Paris agreement. The People’s Party has taken a completely different view. They agree that climate change is happening but don’t believe that humans play a role and therefore would do nothing to address it.

Most of this spells good news for the industry. If the political parties follow through on their promises, there appears to be considerable market stimulation coming our way, resulting in more work for contractors.

Training and education with energy efficient systems will play a large role within the market. We are going to need to evolve. I am a bit nervous about some of the retrofitting programs proposed.

From what I understood with previous retrofit programs, some contractors and wholesalers weren’t too happy with the artificial stimulation of the marketplace. Maybe one of these proposed systems will be better. Who knows?

Tomorrow, we will know who won the federal election and have a better idea of where Canada will be headed with some of these initiatives.