Home Retrofit Grant Program

Have you heard about the Home Retrofit Grant Program yet? If you haven’t and are thinking about making some upgrades to your home – read on!

The Federal Government has launched a new program that offers grants of up to $5,000 to homeowners to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. The Canada Greener Home Grants program is funded to the turn of $2.6 billion by the federal government.

It is definitely something you should look into if you are thinking about upgrading your home.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, “Buildings, including our homes, account for 18% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. We want to help Canadians make where they live more energy-efficient. This means homes will be more comfortable and more affordable to maintain while also supporting our environmental objectives. The Canada Greener Homes Grant will help homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient, create new jobs across Canada for energy advisors, grow our domestic green supply chains, and fight climate change.”

Projects that are included in the home retrofit program include;

• improving insulation
• air sealing
• replacing thermostats
• upgrading/replacing energy efficient heating and cooling equipment
• solar panel installations
• replacing old windows and doors with energy-efficient windows and doors

The program also includes an additional grant of up to $600 that can be applied towards the two mandatory home energy audits. One audit is required before the start of your project and one after the project is finished.

In total, participants are actually eligible for up to $5,600 total under the initiative. 

There are eligibility criteria that must be met in order for you to take advantage of the grant. Including;

• Only one homeowner per home can register.
• Provide proof of ownership with your property tax bill number. The number can be found on your municipal property documents.
• Demonstrate the property is your primary residence through either a drivers licence or government issued ID (with address), or utility bill.
• Indigenous governments or organizations (e.g., band councils, land claim organizations).
• Housing management bodies and other representative or Indigenous service delivery organizations with formal partnerships with Indigenous governments or organizations.

Properties eligible for the home retrofit program include;

• Single and semi-detached houses
• Row housing
• Townhomes
• All-season cottages
• Mobile homes on a permanent foundation
• Permanently-moored floating homes
• Mixed use buildings (residential portion only)
• Small multi-unit residential building (three storeys or less with a footprint of 600m² or less). Review additional requirements for small multi-unit residential buildings.
• New homes are not eligible for the grant.

Applications to register and book your evaluation are now available on the Natural Resources Canada website.

In addition to this program, an interest-free loan program will be introduced this summer that will provide homeowners up to $40,000 to help complete deep home retrofits. You can register to receive updates when the loan initiative becomes available.