The Canada Greener Homes Grant is winding down early, and if you’re an HVAC contractor or dealer, you’re probably wondering how this impacts your business and your customers. Rest assured, it’s not all bad news. 

Keep reading for a quick overview of everything you need to know about the wind-down, including what you should tell your customers and what might come next. 

As a side note, staying on top of available government rebates is critical for HVAC contractors and dealers, but it’s often easier said than done. So many programs, grants, rebates, and incentives are available at provincial and federal levels that keeping current can be challenging. That’s why we created this government rebates resource, which lists every available rebate from province to province. 

Greener Homes Grant Program winds down

The Greener Homes Grant Program is a federal initiative in which homeowners can receive grants ranging from $125 to $5,000 for eligible home retrofits and up to $600 for pre- and post-retrofit EnerGuide home evaluations.

Recently, it was confirmed by HRAI that the program will stop accepting new applicants in March 2024. 

Why is it ending early? 

The grant program was initially planned to reach 700,000 homes over seven years. The program is ending before either of those numbers is met. Still, the $2.6 billion budget set aside for the program is on track to be completed, indicating that uptake for the program was more substantial than anticipated. 

What to tell your customers

So, what exactly does this mean for you and your customers? There are two important things to communicate to homeowners who want to take advantage of extra savings. 

New applications will be protected until March 2024 

The first is that all new eligible applications will be accepted and protected until March 2024. This also includes those who have already applied but are waiting for their projects to be completed. 

The time to act is now

The second thing to emphasize to your customers is that the time to act is now—to take advantage of the Greener Homes Grant while it’s still available. A March 2024 deadline will approach quickly, and there isn’t a specific date for the program to officially stop accepting applications. 

Looking ahead 

While the wind-down of this program might cause some short-term ambiguity about what comes next, the federal government will likely announce future programs and rebates soon. 

For example, Natural Resources Canada has been hinting at further developing its Green Building Strategy for some time now, and there’s some speculation that updates may be around the corner. 

The best advice for HVAC contractors and dealers is to stay tuned for future rebate announcements and educate homeowners on the importance of taking advantage of the Greener Homes Grant while it’s still available.