This national public review runs from October 21, 2024 to December 19, 2024.
The Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC) invites code users, the Codes community, and the public to participate in the fall 2024 public review of proposed changes to the 2020 editions of the National Model Codes. The proposed changes included in this public review address the following topics in the National Building Code of Canada, the National Fire Code of Canada, the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings, and the National Plumbing Code of Canada:
National Building Code of Canada
- Fenestration
- Building envelope
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Updates to referenced documents
National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings
- Performance compliance – Energy modeling software requirements
- Performance compliance – Exceptional calculation methods
- Updates to referenced documents
National Fire Code of Canada
- Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction
- Updates to referenced documents
National Plumbing Code of Canada
- Updates to referenced documents
See the summary of key proposed changes below for more details.
The purpose of this public review is to:
- provide code users, the Codes community, and the public with a detailed look at proposed technical changes,
- seek comment on each proposed technical change as to whether it should be approved, altered or withdrawn, and
- seek comments on updates to documents referenced in the National Model Codes.
The public review will close at 11:59 pm PST on December 19, 2024, after which comments will no longer be accepted.
The result of the public review process is a collection of comments on proposed code changes. The comments are sorted and analyzed by Codes Canada staff who are familiar with the development of the proposed changes, and who develop a draft resolution to each comment. The draft resolutions are validated by the responsible code development committees, which form the recommendations to the CBHCC.
The recommendations could be one of the following:
- approve for publication,
- revise for publication,
- defer publication pending further development – subject to subsequent public review, or
- withdraw proposed code change.
The CBHCC decides which changes will be published in the next edition of the National Model Codes based on the recommendations of the code development committees.
Steps for submitting comments on proposed changes
Step 1: Read the guidelines for writing comments.
Step 2: Read the instructions for submitting comments.
Step 3: Read the proposed changes.
Step 4: If you have a comment, click the “Submit a comment” link located at the beginning of each proposed change, which will take you to the online comment form. Only comment forms that are submitted online will be accepted.
You may submit other related documents, such as reports, by e-mail or mail.
Important: submit one comment form per proposed change. If you are commenting on more than one proposed change, use a separate form for each one.
Thank you for contributing to the development of the National Model Codes.
Important links:
Summary of key proposed changes
National Building Code of Canada (NBC)
Operational greenhouse gas emissions (Part 9)
Introduces prescriptive requirements to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions, determined at the time of design, resulting from the supply and consumption of energy used by a Part 9 building.
Protection from precipitation of the rough opening sills for windows and doors (Part 9)
Clarifies the requirements for protection from precipitation of the rough opening sills for windows and doors to more closely align these requirements with established building science principles and standards.
Thermal characteristics of fenestration and doors (Part 9)
Places a limit on the maximum solar heat gain coefficient for fenestration and doors based on the fenestration and door area to gross wall area ratio (FDWR) and climate zone of the building location.
National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB)
Energy modeling software requirements (Parts 3 and 8, and Part 2 of Division C)
Introduces requirements for the energy modeling software used to demonstrate code compliance to pass acceptance criteria provided in ASHRAE 140-2023, “Method of Test for Evaluating Building Performance Simulation Software.” Also introduces exceptional calculation methods, and requirements for related documentation, for building components that cannot be modeled by the software.
National Fire Code of Canada (NFC)
Revisions to protection requirements for encapsulated mass timber construction (EMTC) buildings during construction (Parts 2 and 5)
Revises the minimum requirements for and exceptions to the encapsulation of mass timber elements to provide additional options for the fire protection of EMTC buildings during construction and remain aligned with the NBC. Also introduces measures to address the risk of fire spread between storeys and other practical aspects of construction fire safety planning.
All National Model Codes
Updates to referenced documents
Updates certain documents referenced in the National Model Codes.
Combined proposed change forms are available in PDF file format
Fall 2024: Proposed changes to NBC 2020, NFC 2020, NECB 2020, and NPC 2020 – combined file (PDF – 5,876 KB)
Fall 2024: Proposed changes to NBC 2020, NFC 2020, NECB 2020, and NPC 2020 – supporting documents (PDF – 597 KB)