In September 2025, Green Jobs BC, a project of the Centre for Civic Governance, released a major report titled Jobs for Today: Canada’s Building Trades and the Net-Zero Transition. The study reviews the essential role of the construction sector in meeting Canada’s climate goals and outlines a scale of investment and employment growth that will reshape industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) real estate for decades. It highlights not only job creation, but also the scale of regulatory, financial, and market shifts that will directly affect property development, ownership, and long-term asset value.Scale of Market ShiftThe report forecasts between 6.3 million and 9.5 million job years in construction and building trades through 2050, translating into an average of up to 350,000 ongoing jobs, an increase of 20% to 30% in Canada’s current construction employment. For the real estate sector, the significance lies in where this work will occur. Nearly half of the total projected employment gains, equal to 3 to 4.5 million job years, will come from investments in the built environment, particularly energy-efficient communities.This scale of sustained labour demand reflects billions in capital investment that will be channelled into building upgrades, new high-performance construction, and district energy systems. Transformation of ICI BuildingsThe report highlights ICI properties (commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings) as a focal point of the transition. These properties are both the most energy-intensive and the most heavily regulated assets in the sector, making them subject to direct and early compliance requirements under Canada’s net-zero policies.New Green ConstructionThe report expects that, by 2050, virtually all ICI construction projects will be required to incorporate advanced energy-conserving techniques and materials. The transition is projected to generate between 1.7 million and 2.5 million job years in new ICI construction activity. Regulatory drivers are expected to strengthen these trends, with policy measures under development that could incorporate greenhouse gas performance and embodied-carbon considerations into building codes and standards. Some municipalities, such as Vancouver and Toronto, have already begun requiring embodied-carbon reporting in construction materials, suggesting an emerging regulatory trend. The baseline cost of compliance will likely increase, but so too will the competitive value of assets that meet or exceed green standards. Early adoption of energy-conserving techniques can position developers to capture incentives while future-proofing properties against tightening regulations.Deep Retrofits of Existing AssetsThe report makes clear that Canada’s current pace of retrofitting existing ICI buildings is too slow to meet the 2050 net-zero targets. To close the gap, every commercial, industrial, and institutional property will need major energy-saving upgrades within the next 25 years. For real estate owners, this presents both a challenge and an investment opportunity. Retrofitting costs are substantial, but governments are beginning to mobilize financing support. District Energy SystemsAnother area flagged in the report is the $50 billion cumulative investment in district energy systems (DES) between now and 2050. District energy provides centralized heating, cooling, and power for clusters of buildings, significantly lowering costs and reducing municipal greenhouse gas emissions.For developers and investors, integration with district energy systems can improve the resilience and efficiency of entire portfolios. Innovations in electricity storage, such as neighbourhood-level batteries, could reshape how communities manage demand peaks and renewable generation variability. These investments highlight a trend toward collective, infrastructure-level solutions rather than building-by-building upgrades, which could transform zoning, urban planning, and project design.Key ImplicationsCanada’s net-zero transition involves a notable shift in how buildings are constructed, retrofitted, and powered. Stricter RegulationsBuilding codes and standards are expected to tighten significantly, raising the baseline requirements for new and existing properties, although timing and jurisdictional details remain uncertain.Retrofit AccelerationOwners of existing ICI assets face strong pressure to implement deep retrofits, with financing programs emerging to offset costs.Infrastructure IntegrationDistrict energy and storage investments will require coordination with municipal and community-level planning, influencing the location and design of future developments.The net-zero transition is already reshaping Canada’s real estate investment landscape. With billions in capital investments, millions of job years in construction, and transformative changes to both regulations and financing.