Home upgrade rebates in Canada: what changed in 2026 and what you can still get
The federal grant most homeowners have heard of is gone, and the interest-free loan is no longer taking applications. But there is still real money on the table, and in some provinces it is larger than what the federal programs ever paid. Here is the honest picture.
Most of the rebate advice circulating online is out of date, and the out-of-date parts are the headline numbers people plan around. That is an expensive kind of wrong.
So this guide starts with what has closed, then works through what is actually open, province by province, with the amounts as published on the official pages. Where a program's status could not be confirmed, it says so rather than guessing.
One rule runs through all of it: nearly every meaningful program requires pre-approval before the work starts, and a properly licensed contractor on the paperwork. Get either wrong and the money is gone, no matter how good the work is.
Start here: two federal programs you may be counting on are closed
If you have read an article promising the Canada Greener Homes Grant or the interest-free Greener Homes Loan, it is out of date. Both are shut to new applicants, and what replaced them works very differently.
The grant was genuinely large while it ran. It is worth understanding what closed, because it is the reason so much of the advice online no longer matches reality.
For most homeowners in 2026, the bigger money is provincial. That is the single most important shift.
The Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program. It is a completely different model: instead of paying you back after you spend, it delivers the work at no cost to qualifying households through a direct-install partner. It is income-targeted, open to tenants as well as owners, and the federal government does not take applications from households directly. You apply through your province's delivery organisation.
What is actually available now, at a glance
These are the published ceilings, not what you will necessarily receive. Almost every program has a household cap that is lower than the sum of its line items, so read this as the shape of the landscape rather than an addition problem.
Quebec heat pump support is paid per 1,000 BTU/h rather than as a flat ceiling, so the geothermal cap is the only directly comparable Quebec figure on this scale.
| Program | Where | Run by |
|---|---|---|
| Greener Homes Affordability Program | Federal, delivered province by province | Natural Resources Canada with provincial partners |
| Home Renovation Savings Program | Ontario | IESO (Save on Energy) and Enbridge Gas |
| LogisVert | Quebec | Hydro-Quebec |
| Renoclimat | Quebec | Government of Quebec. Status should be confirmed directly |
| CleanBC Better Homes | British Columbia | Province of BC with BC Hydro and FortisBC |
Ontario: the Home Renovation Savings Program
This is the most straightforward money available to most Canadian homeowners right now, and it is not income-tested. It launched in January 2025, is co-delivered by the IESO under the Save on Energy brand alongside Enbridge Gas, and sits inside an electricity plan that runs through at least 2027.
It is open to homes heated by electricity, natural gas, oil, wood or propane. There are two streams, and the difference between them is the thing most people get wrong.
Windows and doors are paid at $100 per rough opening rather than as a ceiling, and sit in the bundled stream. Heat pumps must appear on NRCan's qualified products list; windows, doors and water heaters must be ENERGY STAR certified.
| Stream | What it needs | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone | No home energy assessment, no bundling | Heat pumps, solar and battery, attic insulation, smart thermostat, appliances |
| Bundled | A $600 home energy assessment plus two qualifying upgrades | Insulation up to $7,700, windows and doors at $100 per rough opening, heat pump water heater, air sealing |
There is an overall household cap, and it depends on how your home is heated: lower for natural gas heated homes, higher for electrically heated ones. Adding up the individual line items will almost always overshoot what you actually receive. Confirm your own number on the official site before you sign anything.
Quebec: LogisVert, and the Renoclimat question
Hydro-Quebec's LogisVert is the confirmed, currently active program, and its structure is different from Ontario's. Most heat pump support is paid per 1,000 BTU/h of capacity rather than as a flat rebate, which means the number depends on the size of the machine you install and its certification level.
Several of the central-system measures are deducted directly from the installer's invoice, so you never apply and never wait for a cheque. That is worth asking your contractor about specifically.
Heat pumps are paid at $50 to $120 per 1,000 BTU/h depending on certification; geothermal at $250 per 1,000 BTU/h up to the $18,000 cap. Solar is paid at $1,000 per kW installed, up to 40 percent of cost.
Renoclimat is the provincial program that historically stacked with LogisVert, and third-party sites still quote combined totals around $11,950. We could not confirm its current status or amounts on an official Quebec government page, so this guide does not publish a Renoclimat figure. Check quebec.ca directly before counting on it.
Also note that the high-efficiency heat pump and caulking measure was removed from LogisVert in August 2025. Anything quoting that measure is out of date.
British Columbia, and the federal Affordability Program
British Columbia runs heat pump and building envelope rebates through CleanBC Better Homes, with amounts that depend on your utility, what you are replacing, and in some streams your household income. Income-qualified households can access considerably more than the standard rebate.
Because the amounts shift by utility and by stream, this is the one province where a published headline number is genuinely unhelpful. Confirm your specific figure with BC Hydro or FortisBC before budgeting.
BC is also one of the provinces delivering the federal Greener Homes Affordability Program, which covers qualifying work outright rather than reimbursing it. As of the last check that program was running in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec, with more provinces being added over time.
The Affordability Program is the largest single benefit available to the households it covers, because it delivers the work at no cost rather than paying part of it back. It is open to tenants as well as owners. You apply through your province's delivery organisation, not through the federal government.
Four things that trip people up
None of these are obscure. All four are common enough that program administrators warn about them, and each one is capable of costing you the entire rebate on work that was otherwise done perfectly well.
- 1Confirm the program is open todayNot the day you started researching. The federal loan closed while it was still being advertised across the industry.
- 2Check whether an assessment has to come firstBundled streams and programs like Renoclimat need an energy assessment before the work, and another after. Do the work first and you are not eligible.
- 3Get pre-approval before anything startsNearly every meaningful program requires it. Install first and apply after, and the money is simply gone.
- 4Hire a licensed contractor and get the licence number on the invoiceSeveral programs require it on the paperwork. A cash deal with an unlicensed operator can void your home insurance as well as the rebate.
- 5Check the equipment is on the qualified listHeat pumps generally have to appear on NRCan's list; windows, doors and water heaters usually need ENERGY STAR certification.
| The mistake | What happens |
|---|---|
| Unlicensed contractor | Rebate refused, and your home insurance may be void on the work too |
| Work done before the pre-work assessment | Ineligible. There is no retroactive fix |
| Adding up every line item | Household caps are real, and in Ontario the cap depends on how you heat |
| Planning around a program you have not re-checked | Programs close with very little notice, sometimes weeks |
Confirm your own numbers before you sign
Amounts, eligibility rules and closing dates change, and they vary by province, by utility, by household income and by the specific equipment installed. Every figure in this guide was checked in August 2026 against the official program pages, which are linked below.
If a contractor tells you they are government approved for a rebate, that is checkable in about two minutes against the program's own participating-contractor list. Ontario's official program site carries its own warning about fake websites, unauthorized rebate offers and contractors impersonating participating installers.
The short version
The old federal grant and loan are both closed. The federal replacement covers the work outright, but it is income-tested and delivered through your province. The largest amounts most homeowners can actually get in 2026 are provincial: Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program and Quebec's LogisVert.
Every one of them requires a licensed contractor, most require pre-approval before the work starts, and several require an assessment before that. Get the sequence right and the money is straightforward. Get it wrong and there is no retroactive fix.
Rebates only pay out on properly done work.
We check licence, insurance and workers' compensation clearance before any contractor can contact you, which is exactly what these programs require on the paperwork. Answer a few questions and we'll match you with one vetted local pro.
Read this next
Confirm your own numbers
- Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (Natural Resources Canada)
- Canada Greener Homes Loan: application status (Natural Resources Canada)
- Home Renovation Savings Program (Ontario, official site)
- Save on Energy: Home Renovation Savings
- LogisVert residential financial assistance (Hydro-Quebec)
- Renoclimat (Gouvernement du Quebec) — verify current status
- CleanBC Better Homes (British Columbia)
This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Handy Hank does not administer any government rebate program and cannot approve or guarantee funding. Amounts, eligibility rules and closing dates change, and vary by province, utility, household income and the specific equipment installed. Figures verified August 2026. Renoclimat's current status and amounts could not be confirmed on an official source at that date and are deliberately not published here. Always confirm current details with the program administrator before committing to any work.