Financial Incentives (FIs) for green buildings are a major component of energy policy planning and play a vital role in the promotion of sustainable development and carbon mitigation strategies. Despite the presence of numerous FIs in Canada, there is still a lack of understanding on their distribution and effectiveness. This review first investigates the FIs available for residential and commercial buildings in Canada, and then performs a comprehensive review of studies related to FIs’ effectiveness evaluation. It is found that FIs for buildings in Canada can be distributed into four categories: tax, loans, grants, and rebates. Among these, rebates from utility providers are the most common and are administered in all provinces. In addition to these, special incentives are available for three end-users (low-income, aboriginal people, landlords and tenants) and for three types of buildings (heritage, non-profit and energy rated). A clear contrast is observed on FIs offered in three regulatory regimes (Federal, provincial and municipal). Four provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec) are leading in green building efforts. The in-depth literature review was also used to develop an understanding on the criteria used in effectiveness evaluation and the factors impacting effectiveness. Based on the findings of different studies on FIs effectiveness, a generic approach for evaluation of FIs is proposed that can help in deploying successful FIs programs. The results of this review are of importance to the policymakers, government authorities, and utilities engaged in designing and improving FIs for energy efficient buildings.

绿色建筑的财政激励 (FI) 是能源政策规划的重要组成部分，在促进可持续发展和碳减排战略方面发挥着至关重要的作用。尽管加拿大有许多金融机构，但对其分布和有效性仍然缺乏了解。本综述首先调查了加拿大可用于住宅和商业建筑的金融机构，然后对与金融机构有效性评估相关的研究进行了全面审查。结果发现，加拿大建筑的金融机构可分为四类：税收、贷款、赠款和回扣。其中，公用事业供应商的回扣最为普遍，所有省份均有实施。除此之外，还为三种最终用户（低收入、原住民、房东和租户）和三种类型的建筑（遗产、非营利和能源评级）。在三种监管制度（联邦、省和市）提供的金融机构中观察到明显的对比。四个省份（阿尔伯塔省、不列颠哥伦比亚省、安大略省和魁北克省）在绿色建筑方面处于领先地位。深入的文献回顾也被用来加深对有效性评估中使用的标准和影响有效性的因素的理解。基于对 FI 有效性的不同研究的结果，提出了一种通用的 FI 评估方法，可以帮助部署成功的 FI 计划。本次审查的结果对于参与设计和改进节能建筑 FI 的决策者、政府当局和公用事业非常重要。