By Canadian Press

No sign interest in heat pumps grew following Liberal move to beef up federal grants

Jan 18, 2024 | 11:49 AM

OTTAWA — More than 12,000 Canadians have applied for federal grants to help offset the cost of replacing oil furnaces with electric heat pumps. 

But data provided by Natural Resources Canada doesn’t show an uptick in interest following Ottawa’s announcement in October that it would increase the amount of money available under the program in Atlantic Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set off a political uproar when he announced the government was temporarily removing carbon pricing from heating oil and increasing heat pump grants in the Atlantic from $10,000 to $15,000.

The government insists it made the move because heating oil is already much more expensive than natural gas, and people who use it need more time and financial aid to remove their oil furnaces and install electric heat pumps instead.

The data obtained by The Canadian Press show about 90 per cent of applications for the grants, which became available last spring, have come from Atlantic Canada. 

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Over the first seven months they was offered, about 1,400 applications were received per month, compared with fewer than 1,200 per month in the two months after the grant amount was increased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press