I agree. It was difficult to imagine during the 1970s and it's still difficult today.
The building code is very influential. Some provinces use it as a reference tool. It is the only one the federal government has.
Perhaps we could arrange a kind of competition, as we had during the 1970s when the provinces competed to see which one could design and build the most energy efficient building. Toronto and Calgary were competing against each other. Perhaps we could arrange an informal competition to see who can design the most efficient building or neighbourhood in terms of water conservation.