Canada bets $2 billion on one million home retrofits

On October 8 in Sherbrooke, Québec, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $2 billion investment to deliver one million home energy retrofits across Canada — pitched as a way to cut both heating bills and emissions.

The centerpiece is a new National Heat Pump Rebate covering up to 820,000 households. Below-median-income households can get up to $10,000 toward an electric heat pump; other eligible households get $2,000 — both stackable with existing provincial programs. Notably, there's no energy audit required before or after installation, and approvals come within 24 hours — aimed at the 80% of heating replacements that happen because a system broke down without warning. The government says heat pumps save an average of $1,400 a year for homes currently on oil or electric baseboards.

The second stream targets renters: working with CMHC and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the plan finances retrofits for 280,000 apartment units over eight years, plus a renewed Deep Retrofit Accelerator to guide building owners through the process.

Combined, the measures are projected to cut emissions by over 25 megatonnes — roughly the equivalent of taking 8.5 million cars off the road for a year. The announcement fulfills a commitment under May's National Electricity Strategy, which aims to double Canada's grid capacity by 2050 and deliver up to $15 billion in energy savings.