A heat pump is pictured at a house in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands, May 27, 2023. AP Photo/Martin Meissner
Ottawa is earmarking $2 billion for a nationwide rebate program designed to accelerate heat pump adoption in residential properties over the coming years.
The National Heat Pump Rebate Program was announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney this week as an eight-year program, which he says will save Canadians money on their monthly energy bills.
Here’s what to know about the program.
When Does the Program Start?
The National Heat Pump Rebate program is expected to launch in early 2027. The federal government has launched a preliminary webpage where Canadians can sign up for updates ahead of the program’s official rollout.
Canadians looking to participate can go to the Canada.ca Energy Retrofits Portal to complete a notification form. Subscribers will receive notifications about when the program launches, who qualifies, and when the application portal becomes available.
Who Is Eligible?
Carney said the program will provide rebates to an estimated 820,000 homeowners over the eight-year period.
Low-to-median income households will be eligible for grants of up to $10,000 while those with higher earnings will qualify for a foundational $2,000 grant to support equipment purchases.
The government hasn’t disclosed the specific earnings threshold for qualifying for the $10,000 rebate, but the initiative is expected to adopt provincial median after-tax household incomes, adjusted for household size, following the same methodology as the former Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) program.
The program was run by the previous Liberal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and stopped accepting applications in July. The program set the median family income eligibility at $96,439 for a family of four living in Ontario.
Carney said the new rebate initiative is meant to help homeowners with heating systems that have broken down or are nearing end of life.
The program enforces a limit of one rebate per individual, meaning landlords cannot claim incentives for both a rental property and a primary residence. However, federal grants can be combined with existing provincial rebates to further lower upfront costs.
How the Application Process Will Work
Homeowners should begin by verifying that their chosen system appears on the federal product registry—a comprehensive database containing more than 100,000 different configurations, according to the government.
The process will not require any pre-installation or post-installation home energy audits.
Once the online portal officially opens, the application process is expected to follow a simplified process, a government website said.
Users can log in to the government portal to submit basic personal information and equipment specs and the portal will determine eligibility and grant tier within 24 hours, the site said.
After receiving approval, households can arrange for their pre-approved heat pump system to be professionally installed by a qualified HVAC technician.
Rebates are processed after final proof of purchase and installation invoices are uploaded to the portal.
Rebates will be processed within five days and paid out via direct deposit into the recipients’ bank accounts.
The government is estimating the change to heating pumps will result in annual energy-bill savings of more than $1,400 for households currently using oil, propane, or electric-resistance heating.
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