Vancouver city council bans natural gas heating for new homes

Vancouver council has flip-flopped on banning natural gas in new homes, which advocates said would spur residential construction. However, an absentee councillor led to a Mexican-standoff, propelling the ban forward.

“People want to have the choice on how to cook their food,” Brian Montague, a Vancouver City Councillor, said over the summer. “They want to have a choice on how they heat their homes and how they heat their water.”

The city has not allowed natural gas for heating and hot water in new homes since 2022. However, the ban temporarily exempted cooking and fireplaces.

But a 5-5 vote Wednesday stymied a reversal of the ban, earning praise from Councillors with the Green Party of Vancouver.

The change would have allowed builders to choose between natural gas and electricity for new residential builds starting next March.

OneCity councillor Christine Boyle did not vote, as she plans to resign, following a successful provincial run as the NDP MLA for Vancouver-Little Mountain.

Montague, who introduced the amendment, said the move would “significantly help build homes, specifically multiplexes and missing middle homes, which are desperately needed.”

He also raised concerns on the rising demand of electricity and how it could impact heating, with overall demand pegged for a 15% increase by 2030, province wide.

City administrators, however, said allowing gas would leave the city’s 2030 climate targets out of reach. They also said that no ban would provide choice, but not improve affordability or speed up the permitting process.

#Vancouver Mayor Robertson’s natural gas ban reveals BC NDP roots, reports @ilikerox — https://t.co/Ykjz0H3PKq | #bcpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/zIYmscia6i

ABC councillors Peter Meiszner, Lisa Dominato, and Rebecca Bligh voted against removing the ban, joining two Green councillors, including Adriane Carr.

On May 30, 2022 councillor Carr tabled a motion to ban natural gas stoves and fireplaces, claiming it poses a “threat for health, and our planet.”

Councillors instead moved to require 20% better energy efficiency for new builds.

“It’s going to be a work in progress as builders look at the choices they have” to incorporate natural gas, Carr told CityNews. “It doesn’t get to where my motion would have taken council.”

Carr’s motion, Ensuring Healthier Climate-Smart Homes, said at least 25% of “today’s global warming is driven by methane from human actions.”

Remind people not to invest in Victoria starting now. pic.twitter.com/Sx3BvO1bLn

In March 2023, Victoria council also debated a ban on natural gas ovens and heating for rezoned developments in place of electric energy systems.

“We are in a climate emergency,” reads the motion. About 40% of GHG emissions in Victoria are from buildings, it claims.

“Installing GHG-producing systems in new buildings will lock in decades of GHG emissions or require far-more-expensive retrofits later.”

As of 2025, Victoria will no longer permit the construction of housing heated by natural gas, after implementing a gas prohibition for new homes in August 2022.

Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.