MONTREAL: Following a nearly two-year hiatus, Canada’s highly popular residential energy-efficiency program is making a comeback in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and British Columbia, CBC News has learned.
Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature, is expected to officially announce the federal program’s relaunch in these four provinces on Monday morning.
According to a draft of the official news release obtained by CBC News, the revitalized initiative will inject substantial financial resources into regional green transitions. “Over $500 million in funding, $300 million of which is federal, will be directed to help over 35,000 low- and median-income households reduce energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions through no-cost home retrofits such as heat pumps, insulation and air sealing,” the draft states.
The program has been rebranded as the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) and is already operational in Manitoba. While a timeline for the remaining provinces and territories has not been finalized, a senior federal source confirmed that active negotiations are underway with other jurisdictions.
Additionally, the government’s website indicates that CGHAP will provide dedicated funding and structural support to regional Indigenous governments and representative organizations, sourced via existing agreements managed by Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
Shift to Provincial Administration
In a significant structural shift from its predecessor, the program will now fall under a newly named federal department—Environment, Climate Change and Nature Canada—and will be administered directly by provincial authorities rather than Ottawa.
The rollout will be delivered in close coordination with all four provincial governments alongside major utility and efficiency operators, including Hydro-Québec, B.C. Hydro, FortisBC, and Nova Scotia-based EfficiencyOne. Specific household eligibility criteria and maximum funding limits per home have not yet been disclosed.
Minister Dabrusin, alongside Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, will formally unveil the program at 8:00 a.m. Monday during the International Energy Agency’s Global Conference on Energy Efficiency in Montreal. Sources also confirmed that Dabrusin has assumed sole federal responsibility for CGHAP, alongside the broader energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging portfolios.
Addressing Past Critiques
The original Canada Greener Homes Grant, launched in 2021, offered homeowners up to $5,000 for energy retrofits and up to $600 for home energy evaluations via a reimbursement model. While the initial $2.6-billion budget was intended to sustain operations until 2027, overwhelming demand caused the program to run out of cash and abruptly close in early 2024.
The early closure drew sharp criticism from both homeowners and the residential retrofitting industry, who criticized Ottawa for allowing a heavily promoted, multi-year program to lapse for nearly two years. By shifting the focus away from up-front homeowner spending and targeting low-to-median-income households—including both owners and renters—the revamped CGHAP aims to bridge previous equity gaps in Canada’s residential climate strategy.
