Canada's glazing market is in the middle of the most significant regulatory shift in its history. Between 2025 and 2030, every province will have adopted or be in the process of adopting model codes that impose thermal performance requirements beyond what conventional double IGU can meet and that only the top tier of triple IGU and VIG can satisfy. Fabricators who understand this timeline and position their product lines ahead of it will capture the premium market that results. Those who wait will find themselves responding to tender specifications they are not equipped to bid.
2025: National Model Codes published
The 2025 editions of the National Building Code (NBC 2025) and the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB 2025) were released in 2025, introducing the most significant energy performance updates to the federal model codes since the tiered structure was introduced in 2020. Key changes include:
- Explicit greenhouse gas emission intensity limits for new buildings — not just energy use limits
- Tightened prescriptive envelope requirements across all climate zones
- Updated compliance paths that make Tier 3-5 performance more directly accessible through prescriptive specifications
- Revised window U-value requirements in several climate zone categories
These model codes are not mandatory at the federal level. Their significance is that they define the baseline from which provinces adopt and adapt. Every province that adopts NBC 2025 will incorporate these higher performance requirements into its provincial code.
Adoption timeline context: Provincial code adoption of national model codes typically takes 1–4 years after publication. NBC 2015 was adopted by most provinces between 2016 and 2020. NBC 2020 adoption is still incomplete in some provinces as of 2025. NBC 2025 adoption is expected to complete across most provinces by 2027–2028.
Ontario: Step Code expansion and mandatory timelines
Ontario has been more proactive than most provinces in implementing performance tiers. The SB-12 framework has been progressively updated, and Ontario's Climate Action Plan includes commitments to mandatory Step 3 and eventually Step 5 compliance timelines for new residential construction. Several Ontario municipalities — including Toronto, Mississauga, and Ottawa — have adopted Step 4 or Step 5 as requirements for development applications, independently of provincial mandates.
The trajectory in Ontario is toward Step 5 as the baseline for new residential construction by the late 2020s in most major urban markets. The window specification implication: whole-window U-values in the range of 0.40–0.50 W/m²K will be required by default, not just for Passive House projects, but for standard code-compliant construction.
Quebec: CCQ revisions and Novoclimat 2.0
Quebec's Code de construction du Québec (CCQ) is updated through a process that involves the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) and the MCCQ. The current revision cycle is expected to produce a CCQ update that aligns more closely with the NBC 2025 energy performance framework. Quebec's distinct climate — with many municipalities in Climate Zones 6 and 7 — means window performance requirements will be among the most demanding in Canada.
Novoclimat 2.0 continues to function as the de facto premium standard for Quebec residential construction, with window requirements that currently exceed CCQ minimums. Social housing procurement, municipal housing programs, and market housing in Quebec's major urban markets increasingly references Novoclimat 2.0 as a quality benchmark.
British Columbia: Step Code trajectory to Tier 5
BC has the most clearly articulated provincial roadmap: the BC Energy Step Code explicitly contemplates Step 5 (net-zero energy ready) as the eventual baseline for new construction. Major BC municipalities are ahead of the provincial requirements, with Vancouver, Victoria, and several Metro Vancouver municipalities already requiring Steps 3 and 4 for new construction. The province's official position is that Step 5 becomes the baseline for market housing in the late 2020s.
BC's combination of the highest step requirements and a climate that spans Zone 4 (the south coast) through Zone 7 (Prince George and northern BC) makes it the most complex glazing market in Canada — and the one where performance documentation matters most, because the range of required U-values across the province is significant.
Federal: Net-Zero by 2030 and beyond
The federal government's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan includes a commitment that all new buildings constructed from 2030 onward be net-zero-ready. This commitment applies directly to federal government construction and procurement, and influences institutional construction broadly through the Canada Green Building Council's Zero Carbon Building Standard, which is increasingly used in hospital, school, and institutional building procurement across all provinces.
The strategic case for adding VIG now
Fabricators who add a certified VIG product line in 2025–2026 are not positioning for the current code baseline. They are positioning for the code baseline of 2028–2030. The lead time from deciding to offer a VIG product to having the supplier relationship, documentation, installation experience, and sales capability to win premium tenders is 12–18 months. Fabricators who start that process now will be ready when the code requirements arrive. Those who start when the requirements are mandatory will be 12–18 months behind competitors who prepared.
The investment is smaller than it appears. VIG Horizon's trade model requires no equipment investment, no minimum order commitment, no upfront stock. The start is a specification package request, a pilot order, and a first installation. The documentation — SGCC #9744, IGCC #6076, TÜV Rheinland Report CN25TTIK-002, CAN/CGSB 12.1-2022 compliance mapping — is provided with every shipment.
"The fabricator who can offer Step Code 5 glazing documentation in 2027, when the code requires it, is the fabricator who started learning the product in 2025. That is the only lead time that matters."
VIG Horizon Inc.