Prime Minister Carney talks about "building Canada" with big, bold projects that shape our future. Well, here's an idea that could make Canadians truly resilient, healthy, and a little more self-reliant: housing developments and communities with mandatory geothermal greenhouses.
Why Geothermal Greenhouses?
Canada relies on the U.S. for over half of our fruits and vegetables. Those winter strawberries, leafy greens, and grapes are on trucks and trains fueled by gasoline. Crises like Covid and the war in Iran affect oil prices — and oil prices affect the price of EVERYTHING.
In response to the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping lane, is closed. That quickly pushed the price of oil to over $100 a barrel. Now Iran, through their proxy in Yemen, is threatening to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major food and oil shipping lane. If that gets blocked, oil prices could spike to $200 or even $300 a barrel. The cost of shipping alone could make the price of vegetables triple.
But It's Not Just About Lettuce
When the price of oil goes up, the price of fertilizer — which is made from petroleum — also goes up. Plastics are made from petroleum too, as is sulfur, and endless other things. That pushes the price of virtually everything up. Compounding the price increases is the fact that everything is shipped by trucks and trains using gasoline. When the price of everything goes up (called inflation) the central banks raise interest rates. That means even the price of carrying a mortgage goes up. When mortgages go up, rents go up — and when housing is less affordable, people have less to spend on food.
Geothermal heating is basically Mother Earth saying, "Relax, I've got this." A few feet below the surface, the ground stays at a pretty steady temperature year-round. Not freezing in winter, not blazing hot in summer, just… chill. Like that one friend who never overreacts.
So instead of fighting the weather like we usually do here in Canada (burning gas, cranking electric heat, watching the bills climb), geothermal just borrows that stable underground temperature. You run pipes into the ground. Inside those pipes is a liquid that absorbs the earth's steady warmth and brings it back up. Then a heat pump boosts that warmth to a comfortable indoor temperature. No fire. No dramatic energy battles. Just quiet cooperation with the planet.
More Than Just Food
Geothermal greenhouses can operate all winter long. Even citrus could be grown locally instead of being shipped thousands of miles. It's like turning your neighbourhood into a food-producing superhero squad. Kids can learn where their food comes from, neighbours share labour and harvests, and your winter salad isn't a fragile import — it's a local triumph.
Neighbourhood geothermal greenhouses would allow us to take the power back into our own hands. They make our communities resilient against global shocks, create local jobs, reduce carbon emissions, and give Canadians the security of knowing that fresh food is always available — even when international politics and oil prices go haywire.
A Bold Canadian Idea
Canada is a country of bold ideas. We've built railways, pipelines, cities, and national parks. We have national healthcare and dental care. Now it's time for a project that feeds, connects, and empowers Canadians while safeguarding us from future shocks. Neighbourhood geothermal greenhouses are practical, fun, and revolutionary — they could be the next iconic Canadian infrastructure project, quietly changing the way we eat, live, and thrive.