Heat pump rebates in Canada — 2026 guide

Yes. Today the money comes from provinces and utilities, and a federal rebate is on the way: on October 8, 2026 Ottawa announced the National Heat Pump Rebate, worth up to $10,000 for households below the median income and $2,000 for others, opening in early 2027 and covering eligible installs from November 1, 2026. The federal Greener Homes Loan and the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program are closed. Ontario's Home Renovation Savings pays up to $7,500 for a cold-climate heat pump in a home not heated by natural gas, BC Hydro and CleanBC pay up to $4,000 when a heat pump replaces electric heat, Efficiency Manitoba pays $2,000 for a ducted system, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick pay smaller amounts. Low- and median-income households in British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec can apply for no-cost retrofits through the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program. As of October 2026, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island had no heat pump rebate open to households at market income.

Not open yet. The National Heat Pump Rebate was announced on October 8, 2026 and the government says it opens in early 2027, covering eligible installs from November 1, 2026: up to $10,000 for households below the median income and $2,000 for everyone else, for an eligible cold-climate air-source heat pump, with no energy audit. Until then, the only federal help open to households is the no-cost Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program for low- and median-income households in six provinces.

Today, through the provincial or utility program. When the federal National Heat Pump Rebate opens in early 2027, it will add an online federal application: approval within 24 hours before you buy, then receipts and payment by direct deposit. Each provincial program sets its own steps, and several require an energy assessment before any work starts: Efficiency Nova Scotia and NB Power both do. Reading the program page before signing a contract avoids losing the rebate on a technicality. Income-qualified programs take applications through the provincial partner and arrange the work themselves.

Most provincial rebates are claimed after installation: the homeowner pays the contractor, submits proof of the work, and receives the rebate. Some pay by the ton of heating capacity rather than a flat amount. Ontario pays $1,250 per ton for a home not heated by natural gas, so a 3-ton system earns $3,750 rather than the $7,500 maximum. Income-qualified programs work differently: they arrange and pay for the work directly.

No. Canada has no federal income-tax credit for installing a heat pump in a home. Support comes as provincial and utility rebates and income-qualified no-cost programs.

Not yet, but from early 2027 you should be able to. The Prime Minister's release says the new federal National Heat Pump Rebate "can be combined with existing provincial programs." Until it opens, a household at market income claims its provincial or utility rebate and nothing federal, because the Greener Homes Loan and the oil-conversion grant are closed. Utility-run programs have not yet said how they will treat the federal rebate, and within a province, programs combine only where their own rules allow.

It depends on the program. The main heat pump rebates in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have no income test. New Brunswick's Total Home Energy Savings program is for households earning over $70,000, with a separate program for lower incomes. The no-cost programs, including the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program partners and Newfoundland and Labrador's takeCHARGE Oil to Electric, are income-qualified.

Usually, yes. Most market-rate rebates are paid after the work is done, so the homeowner covers the full invoice first. The federal rebate due in early 2027 works the same way, paying by direct deposit after you upload receipts. With the federal Loan closed, financing now comes from contractors, manufacturers or, in some municipalities, property-tax programs. Income-qualified no-cost programs are the exception: there is nothing to pay.