Canada Reintroduces Green Renovation Rebate for Low-Income Households in Four Provinces
The federal government is bringing back a green renovation rebate program for low-income homeowners and renters in Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The initiative comes nearly two years after the original program expired and ran out of funding.
Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program
The newly renamed Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program was expanded on Monday in response to what the government described as “global uncertainty, volatile energy costs and growing electricity demand.” The program was originally launched in 2021 as the Canada Greener Homes Grant program but expired in 2024.
Key changes include the expansion of eligibility to both homeowners and renters who meet income requirements. Previously, the program was only available to homeowners.
Upgrades and Savings
The program provides low- and moderate-income households with free home energy retrofits, including upgrades such as heat pumps, insulation, and air sealing. According to Natural Resources Canada, participants can expect to save between $300 and $1,700 in annual energy costs while reducing their household’s greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1.5 tonnes per year.
Funding and Household Coverage
The program will deliver more than $500 million in grants, including $300 million in federal funding, to approximately 35,000 low- and moderate-income households across the four participating provinces.
Funding has been allocated as follows:
Quebec
Quebec’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change received the largest share at $243.5 million (combined federal and provincial funding) to support retrofits for 25,0p>
British Columbia
In British Columbia, the federal and provincial governments will spend $177.3 million to expand the existing HydroBC program to cover 6,000 households, along with an additional $45.2 million to expand FortisBC coverage to 1,000 households.
Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Department of Energy is set to receive $26 million from federal and provincial governments to expand the HomeWarming and African Nova Scotian Communities retrofit programs to 1,600 households.
Prince Edward Island
The federal government will transfer $11.5 million to Prince Edward Island, with the province contributing an additional $3.5 million to expand its existing free insulation program for income-qualifying households.
