Incentives
What Is the Canada Greener Homes Grant?
A look back at the Canada Greener Homes Grant: what it offered, who qualified, and what replaced it.
A look back at the Canada Greener Homes Grant: what it offered, who qualified, and what replaced it.
Originally published in June 2021 when the grant launched. Update (2026): The Canada Greener Homes Grant stopped accepting new applicants in January 2024. This article is kept as a dated snapshot of how the program was first announced. For current options, see our solar incentives page.
On May 27, 2021, the federal government announced the Canada Greener Homes Grant, a national home retrofit program announced in Ottawa. The goal was to help homeowners make energy-efficient upgrades, such as heating and cooling equipment, windows, doors and solar panels, while creating jobs for energy advisors and growing the green energy sector. The program was part of a broader effort to address greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
Greenhouse gases are emitted by natural processes and by human activity. The IPCC has reported that human-caused emissions disrupt natural processes on land, in the sea and in the atmosphere. Roughly 80 percent of global emissions come from burning fossil fuels and industrial sources, including transportation, production, heating and cooling and energy use. Residential buildings were estimated to contribute about 18 percent of Canada's emissions at the time, which is why retrofit programs were a policy focus.
The program was estimated to help over 700,000 homeowners. Homeowners applied, had a licensed energy advisor complete a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation, completed approved upgrades with a licensed contractor, and had a post-retrofit evaluation done. After inspection, eligible costs could be reimbursed. Grants at launch were reported as up to $5,000 for eligible upgrades completed after December 1, 2020, with additional amounts for the EnerGuide evaluations, and a total program budget of $2.6 billion.
Once an application was accepted, homeowners worked with a licensed contractor and an energy advisor, who guided the process from start to finish. The contractor led the retrofit itself, and the homeowner was reimbursed after the work was inspected. Keeping receipts and documentation was essential to the claim.
Eligibility was open to homeowners across Canada, with only one homeowner able to register per home. Applicants were required to provide proof of ownership, such as a property tax bill number, and to show that the property was their primary residence, using a driver's licence, government-issued ID with an address, or a utility bill. Indigenous governments and organizations, and housing management bodies with formal partnerships with them, were also eligible. The government stated it wanted the program, and the new energy advisor positions it created, to support remote and northern communities and to promote diversity and inclusion, including opportunities for Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized Canadians and women.
The grant closed to new applicants in January 2024. A related interest-free loan was available for longer. For official program information, see Natural Resources Canada's home energy efficiency page. We tracked each change on our blog, including our posts on the grant ending in January 2024 and the interest-free loan.
Many homeowners used the grant to improve insulation, windows and heating, and some paired those upgrades with solar. The logic is straightforward: reducing the amount of energy your home needs means a smaller solar system can cover more of your use. If you are planning upgrades, it helps to talk to your installer early so the electrical panel, roof and system size all fit together.
Even without the grant, many Ontario homeowners still go solar to reduce electricity costs and lock in long-term savings. Terawatt Solar can walk you through the options that apply to you now, and our in-house, ESA-licensed crews handle design and installation. Start with the incentives page, then request a free solar assessment to see what a system could look like on your home.
No. The grant stopped accepting new applicants in January 2024.
See our incentives page for the programs available today.
