Carney Launches C$2 Billion Home Retrofit Program

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is rolling out a new rebate program to help Canadians to adopt electric heat pumps, providing households with as much as C$10,000 ($7,021) to make the switch.

Ottawa has earmarked C$2 billion to fund the grants, as well as to help apartment building owners retrofit 280,000 units over the next eight years to make them more energy efficient.

Together, the government says the measures will support one million retrofits and reduce Canada’s emissions by more than 25 million metric tons, which it says is equivalent to taking nearly 8.5 million cars off the road for a year.

“When it comes to saving on home heating, the best option for many Canadians is a heat pump,” Carney said in prepared remarks on Thursday.

“Heat pumps are cleaner and safer than oil and electric furnaces. They are two to three times more efficient. The same warmth, for a fraction of the energy and far less pollution.”

Eligible below-median income households will receive a rebate of up to $10,000 for the purchase of a heat pump, while other households will receive $2,000. The program is expected to roll out next year.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government adopted a similar program in 2022, which helped low and middle-income Canadians replace oil furnaces with electric heat pumps. That program stopped accepting applications this summer.