Knowledge & Research
The CIB’s Knowledge and Research initiative is an additional way to have a meaningful impact on the evolution of infrastructure investment in Canada. High quality research supports the development of good projects by the CIB, its public and private sector partners and can lead to better informed policy and investment choices.
As we build a centre of expertise, our goal is to partner with leading experts from across Canada. We want to develop and distribute knowledge and research relevant to the CIB and our stakeholders. We aim to enhance understanding and acceptance of infrastructure investment approaches involving the private sector and expand our thought leadership within the sector.
Our strategic priorities:
- accelerating strategically identified research topics/themes;
- engaging with a network of thought-leaders, including academics and think-tanks, to define and deliver knowledge and research that is net new to the Canadian infrastructure landscape;
- engaging with federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments and Indigenous communities to develop and execute policy research initiatives; and
- building our capacity as a centre of expertise.
Non-Traditional Modes of Transportation Report
The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) released a research report that outlines effective strategies for infrastructure investments in non-traditional transportation systems – such as aerial transit, micromobility like bikes or e-bikes, ferries, on-demand transit and autonomous shuttles – in Canada. Through international and domestic case studies and industry trends, the report’s key findings highlight non-traditional transportation systems that can play a critical role in providing transit options for users and enhancing the reach and performance of transit networks. Read the report here.
Investment opportunities for transformational change in Atlantic Canada’s economy
The Atlantic Economic Council released a research report, The Potential for New Infrastructure Projects to Support Sustainable Growth in Atlantic Canada. The report identifies opportunities for investment in three key sectors which could accelerate growth in the region’s economy – hydrogen and clean fuels, critical minerals, and trade and transportation. Among the findings, the report points to a critical role for the Canada Infrastructure Bank to advance major infrastructure projects through blended finance partnerships.
Land Value Capture Study – Paying for Transit-Oriented Communities
April 20, 2023 – The University of Toronto’s Infrastructure Institute released a research paper, Land Value Capture Study – Paying for Transit-Oriented Communities. Land value capture (LVC) recognizes that transit leads to increased value for landowners in the vicinity and leverages value uplift for reinvestment in the community. LVC leverages fees, charges, and levies on landowners to reinvest for community benefit. Among the findings, the study outlines how the CIB could play a key role in sharing risk and leveraging private capital to expand LVC.
Read the Land Value Capture Study.
Green Retrofit Economy Study
In 2020, buildings accounted for 87.8 million mega tonnes of GHG emissions in Canada. Building owners across Canada are looking to make investments to advance deep retrofits that can generate long term emission reductions and operational savings, and the CIB is investing $2B in large-scale building retrofits as a way to catalyze this work. The CIB Initiative is designed to support an overarching vision that by 2030, there is a well-functioning marketplace for decarbonizing and modernizing existing commercial buildings in Canada that has sufficient capacity to help meet Canada’s climate targets.
Achieving this vision depends on progress in several other key areas, including sufficient workforce and industry capacity and supportive government policies that drive demand for retrofits.
Research by the Delphi Group and the Canada Green Building Council identifies how Canada can scale up retrofits for large buildings, including industrial, commercial, and large residential buildings by examining the workforce capacity to ensure that workers with the right skills are available to support retrofit projects and that supply chains have capacity to deliver affordable low-carbon construction-related products, technologies, and materials.
Read the Green Retrofit Economy Study.
Secure Smart Cities: Making Municipal Critical Infrastructure Cyber Resilient
As part of investment planning, we encourage innovative research which can lead to better informed policy and investment choices. As such, we supported the paper, Secure Smart Cities: Making Municipal Critical Infrastructure Cyber Resilient, from Ryerson University’s Cyber Policy Exchange.
Clean Power Roadmap
March 11, 2022 – The Atlantic Provinces and the federal government developed a roadmap for how jurisdictions can work together to achieve a clean power future for the region. Governments explored the full range of options for an enhanced, reliable power grid, including alternative financing mechanisms involving the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
Clean Power Roadmap may require shared investments across participating utilities and governments as well as innovative financing solutions to control costs and avoid volatility in electricity rates.
Climate Impacts on Canada’s Electricity Systems
Changes to Canada’s climate will be on average about double the global average, and have significant impacts on Canada’s electricity systems. While system planners have traditionally looked to historical data when planning for new investment, changes in temperature and an increased prevalence of adverse weather events mean this can no longer be the case. New infrastructure will cost more and must be built to withstand climate impacts as they change over the next century.
Research by the Canadian Energy Research Institute quantifies the magnitude of an array of climate impacts on electricity systems in Canada under a variety of different emission scenarios. The research looks at impacts by province and in select municipalities, showing that localized climate impacts will vary across the country and this needs to be taken into account. The CIB is investing in sustainable clean power infrastructure as one of its priority sectors.
A Microgrid Playbook: Conditions and Opportunities for Investment
The challenges of building and providing clean power in rural and remote locations can be daunting. They include lack of capacity, limits of economic scale and difficulty in securing access, among others. As a result, many off-grid communities rely on diesel generation, which bring with it emissions, the risk of spills and air quality impacts. Microgrids relying on solar or wind power could be part of the solution.
This research by the Conference Board of Canada sets out a playbook that identifies positive outcomes that could be achieved with microgrid solutions, including a reduction in the use of diesel, GHG emission reductions and new employment. Microgrids are also an opportunity to provide for community led energy in Indigenous communities. The CIB has identified clean power as a priority sector for investment and was pleased to support and provide input to this work.
Sustainable Finance II – Public Policy Forum
Incorporating the principles of Sustainable Finance into business processes is critical to making sound investment decisions, accounting for their impact and performance, and ensuring progress is made towards climate and sustainability objectives.
The CIB is working with thought leaders to understand these dynamics and was pleased to partner on this Public Policy Forum roundtable series. Through the discussions and debates that were held insights were shared that will have relevance to the Bank and others in areas such as data collection, reporting and the opportunities to mobilize capital towards sustainability goals. The CIB’s Growth Plan was highlighted as one example of capital mobilization.
Read the Public Policy Forum’s full report on the roundtables here.