As pointed out here that the building industry is fragmented, the low carbon solutions need to be as much diverse as our energy consumption pattern. Buildings may not be consuming a 'significant' (as perceived by Canadian policy makes)part of their overall energy output, they provide a good platform for creating 'let us save our planet' waves in citizens' mind.
Further, even developing countries like India and China are giving more and more importance to energy conservation in buildings (for example http://www.bee-india.nic.in/sidelinks/ECBC.html ), the developed nations must act with extra maturity and deploy their resources in all possible manner to all existing fronts.