CGHAP 2026: How to Apply for the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, Province by Province

CGHAP 2026: How to Apply for the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, Province by Province

There is no federal application for the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP). Natural Resources Canada's program page states it directly: "The Government of Canada is not accepting applications from households to participate in the program." CGHAP pays for no-cost, direct-install retrofits, such as insulation and heat pumps, for low-to-median-income homeowners and tenants, and it reaches households only through participating provinces. In October 2026 those were British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. You apply to your province's program, under its income test. Ontario is not on the list.

An earlier version of this page described a federal CGHAP portal, a fixed grant amount, an income table by province, a mandatory federal EnerGuide audit and stacking with programs that have since closed. None of that matches what NRCan or the delivery partners publish, and it has been removed. Every program detail below comes from NRCan or from the delivering utility or agency, checked on October 28, 2026. This is general information, not financial advice; the program you apply to decides your eligibility.

How CGHAP Actually Works

The federal description is short, and each part of it matters for an applicant:

• No-cost, not a rebate. CGHAP "provides low-to-median-income homeowners and tenants with no-cost home retrofits, such as insulation and heat pumps." There is no grant cheque to claim and no fixed dollar amount per home in NRCan's description.
• Direct install. "Selected organizations deliver the program directly to participants and handle all logistics and costs related to planning and completing home retrofits." In practice, the partner arranges the assessment and the contractor and pays them.
• Provinces first. Delivery began in 2025 through participating provinces and territories, and households "must submit applications to the relevant program in their province or territory."
• Indigenous delivery is separate. NRCan says dedicated CGHAP funding flows to regional Indigenous governments and representative organizations through existing agreements managed by Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
• A department change. The CGHAP page now says the program "is currently transitioning to Environment and Climate Change Canada," with questions going to enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca.

That design explains a frustration the old version of this page fed. A household that searches "apply for CGHAP" expects a federal form, and there isn't one. The work of applying, verifying income and booking contractors happens entirely inside a provincial utility or agency program, usually one that existed before CGHAP and now has federal money behind it.

Where You Can Apply: The October 2026 Province List

NRCan's page (last modified October 16, 2026) lists these delivery routes:

NRCan adds that "links to more provincial and territorial programs will be listed here as they become available." Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and the three territories had no CGHAP link on the page when we checked, which means households there had no provincial CGHAP program to apply to. The separate Indigenous stream described above flows through Indigenous governments and organizations, not through household applications.

British Columbia: BC Hydro and FortisBC

In B.C., CGHAP money has been added to an existing low-income program. BC Hydro's page says the Energy Conservation Assistance Program (ECAP), "brought to you by BC Hydro and FortisBC," has "expanded with more offers for eligible BC Hydro and FortisBC customers, in partnership with the Government of B.C. and Government of Canada," and that the expanded offers are supported by CleanBC and by the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program.

What the program describes:

• What you can get. A free home energy evaluation, personalized energy-saving advice and free installation of recommended upgrades, which "may include heat pumps, insulation, and other weatherization and ventilation upgrades." FortisBC's version of the page lists electric air source heat pumps and ductless or central heat pumps among the upgrades, depending on your heating system and utility.
• How it works. Check eligibility against the income requirements, apply online or by mail with "proof of income for all household members aged 18 and older," then a delivery contractor visits. Only upgrades identified during that evaluation visit can be offered.
• The catch. ECAP is "available on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to available funding, and may change at any time."

BC Hydro and FortisBC each publish a page for the same program, and FortisBC's says the upgrades offered depend on "home type, primary space heating fuel/system, utility provider and other factors." The evaluation visit, not the application form, decides what is installed.

BC Hydro's page publishes the income test: household income before tax for the previous year, combining every member aged 18 or older, must not exceed these limits.

The same page lists the eligible housing types as single-family detached homes, townhomes, rowhomes, duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes, and manufactured or mobile homes, with apartments and condominiums described as "available in Fall 2026". Every primary heating fuel is listed, from electricity and natural gas to oil, propane and wood. Three conditions are easy to miss: the program "may look at other factors" including BC Assessment property value; a service address cannot take part more than once every 10 years; and a strata unit may need the strata corporation's consent. Renters can apply if the utility account is in their name, with a landlord consent form submitted with the application, and the page notes that installed upgrades become part of the home.

Manitoba: Efficiency Manitoba

Efficiency Manitoba's Energy Efficiency Assistance Program is the Manitoba route NRCan links to. It is one of the few partner programs that publishes a full income table on the program page, and it is open to more than homeowners: the page invites homeowners with a limited income, renters with a limited income, landlords who want to improve a rental, and First Nation members living off-reserve or owning a home on reserve.

The income test is total household income before deductions, by household size, or status as a First Nation band member with status:

Efficiency Manitoba asks for income documents for every household resident aged 18 or older, and says it "may look at other factors while reviewing your program eligibility, including property value and assets." The offers it lists include a free home energy assessment, free insulation for eligible attics, walls and basements, a free air source or ground source heat pump when retrofitting a qualifying home heated by an electric furnace, baseboards or an electric boiler, a $300 rebate per ENERGY STAR certified triple-pane window or door, a free smart thermostat and free energy-saving devices. For gas-heated homes, it lists a high-efficiency furnace upgrade for $9.50 a month for five years (from a standard-efficiency furnace) or $25 a month for five years (from mid-efficiency), and a $5,000 rebate for replacing a standard-efficiency boiler with a high-efficiency one.

Newfoundland and Labrador: takeCHARGE Greener Homes

The takeCHARGE Greener Homes Program, "delivered in partnership with the Government of Canada," is the most detailed about process of the four partner pages we could read, and the most direct about demand. It says funding for the year "is filling quickly," and that if this year's funding is fully allocated, applications stay in line "for the next available funding in April 2027." Applicants hear their status within 6 to 8 weeks.

What it covers: "a limited number of no-cost heat pumps, heat recovery ventilators, insulation and air sealing upgrades, and home energy assessments," province-wide, with separate programming for remote diesel communities on NL Hydro's isolated systems. Incentives "can cover up to 100% of the cost of the upgrades," depending on the technology, income and household size.

The income test is different from Manitoba's in a way that matters. takeCHARGE defines income as line 23600 (net income) on your Notice of Assessment, minus line 43500 (tax payable), roughly what the household keeps after tax:

Household size counts "the homeowner(s) (a maximum of two) and any other individuals living in the household year-round at the time of application."

The steps takeCHARGE lists run in a fixed order: apply (with your most recent Notice of Assessment); receive an assessment approval code and a list of auditors; the auditor reports recommended projects; takeCHARGE sends a list of qualified contractors for quotes; it approves the projects and their scope with a second code for your contractor; after the final audit, it pays contractors and auditors directly.

Landlords can apply, with limits: a maximum of two properties per owner, tenants who have had the electricity account in their name at that unit for 12 consecutive months, a fixed-term lease running at least six more months, tenants who meet the income test, and written tenant consent.

The project rules are specific. takeCHARGE says only projects completed after October 5, 2026 are eligible, each subject to pre-approval, and that the home must have an active Newfoundland Power or NL Hydro electricity account, sit on a permanent foundation, be a year-round primary residence and not be a new home. Within that:

• Assessments: a pre and post home energy assessment by a participating NRCan certified energy advisor is required.
• Heat pumps: single-head mini-splits only, listed in NRCan's database for the installation zone, installed in the main living area by a participating installer, with a journeyman refrigeration mechanic and an electrician working under permit. Only one heat pump per property qualifies, and households that already have a heat pump are not eligible for one.
• Ventilation: an eligible heat recovery ventilator installed by an HRAI-certified participating installer.
• Insulation: CSA-approved insulation with a verifiable R-value, installed by a participating installer, rebated only up to a maximum R-value. For basement and crawl space walls the range is R-18 to R-25; for basement and crawl space ceilings, R-30 to R-35.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

NRCan lists two Nova Scotia routes run by Efficiency Nova Scotia, HomeWarming for lower-income households and the African Nova Scotian Communities Retrofit program for homeowners in eligible communities, and one Prince Edward Island route through the provincial home insulation programs. Both provinces' pages load their content in the browser and blocked our automated check, so we have not reproduced their income limits or offers here. Use the links in the sources list and confirm the current terms directly before you apply.

Quebec: Hydro-Québec's No-Cost Heat Pump

Quebec's CGHAP route is a component of Hydro-Québec's LogisVert program for modest-income households. Hydro-Québec says this component is "financially supported by the Government of Canada, the Gouvernement du Québec and Hydro Québec."

The rules are distinctive:

• You must go through Éconologis first. To receive a no-cost heat pump, the household must meet the eligibility criteria and "have participated in the Éconologis program after September 30, 2025." Éconologis is a Québec government program for modest-income households.
• What is installed. "A wall-mounted high-efficiency heat pump," or smart thermostats if a heat pump cannot be installed.
• No guarantee. Hydro-Québec answers its own FAQ "If I participate in the Éconologis program, am I guaranteed a heat pump at no charge?" with "No. Eligibility depends on your home, the installer's evaluation as well as technical criteria."
• Tenants lead. The program is open to low-income tenants and owner-occupants, and for a rented home "it is up to your tenant to take the first step," with the owner's involvement later.

Who Usually Qualifies: The Patterns Across Partners

Because each partner sets its own test, the useful comparison is the structure of the rules rather than the dollar limits:

Why the same family can pass in one province and fail in another

The two published tables are easy to misread side by side, so here is one illustration with stated inputs. Take a four-person household whose total income before deductions is $95,000 and whose Notice of Assessment shows net income (line 23600) of $88,000 and tax payable (line 43500) of $14,000. These are example numbers, not averages.

• Under Efficiency Manitoba's test, the household compares $95,000 of total income before deductions with the four-person limit of $85,968. It is $9,032 over and does not qualify on income.
• Under takeCHARGE's test, the same household compares $88,000 minus $14,000, or $74,000, with the four-person limit of $131,100. It is $57,100 under and qualifies on income.

Nothing about the family changed; the measure did. Manitoba starts from total income before deductions, so deductions on the tax return do not lower the number it tests. takeCHARGE starts from the net income line of the Notice of Assessment and then subtracts tax payable, so the household is judged on a much smaller figure. That is why a national "CGHAP income limit" table cannot be right: there is no single income definition behind the program, and the partner's own wording is the only reliable test.

The household-size rules differ too. takeCHARGE counts the homeowner or homeowners (a maximum of two) plus anyone living there year-round; Efficiency Manitoba's table is by "number of people living in the home" and asks for income documents from every resident aged 18 or older. A household with an adult child living at home should count that person, and that person's income, the way the program it applies to does.

Timing: these are not emergency programs

Each of the four partner routes we could read (British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec) starts with an application or registration and an eligibility check before any work. takeCHARGE gives 6 to 8 weeks just for a status reply, and a waitlist to April 2027 once a year's funding is allocated. If a furnace or boiler fails in January, a direct-install program is unlikely to replace it in time, so apply while the old system still runs.

The pattern to take away is that being under an income line is necessary but not sufficient. Each of the four partners whose pages we could read rations by funding, by the home's suitability, or both. Apply early in the funding year where the program runs one, and read the program's own page rather than a national summary, because no two partners use the same income definition.

What CGHAP Is Not

A lot of 2026 confusion comes from mixing CGHAP up with federal programs that have ended:

Two corrections follow from that table. First, the interest-free loan is no longer a fallback for households over a CGHAP income line, because new loan applications cannot be approved. Second, stacking CGHAP with Ontario's former Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate Plus is not possible: HER+ closed to new applicants on February 5, 2024, and Ontario has no CGHAP delivery partner.

If Your Province Is Not Listed

For Ontario, the closest equivalent is not CGHAP but Save on Energy's Energy Affordability Program, which offers free upgrades to income-eligible households, including a cold climate heat pump for homes heated by electricity or oil. Ontario's main rebate program for everyone else is Home Renovation Savings; our Ontario energy rebates guide sets out both, with the current amounts.

Elsewhere, start with your electricity or gas utility's income-qualified program and with NRCan's directory of energy efficiency programs for homes, which NRCan links from its program pages. Our grants and rebates directory also lists provincial and utility programs by country. Check back on the CGHAP page too: NRCan says it adds provincial links as new partners join.

Getting Ready Before You Apply

Whatever your province, these steps shorten the process:

1. Find the right program from NRCan's list, not from an ad or a door-to-door seller. NRCan warns that it "has not approved third parties to make unsolicited contact with homeowners to register for or participate in" CGHAP.
2. Pull the income documents the partner asks for. In the programs above that means the most recent Notice of Assessment (NL) or income documents for every adult in the home (Manitoba, B.C.).
3. Count your household the way the program counts it. takeCHARGE counts a maximum of two homeowners plus year-round residents; Manitoba counts everyone living in the home.
4. Know your heating system and fuel. Several offers depend on it: Manitoba's free heat pump is for homes heated by an electric furnace, baseboards or an electric boiler, and FortisBC's offers vary by heating fuel.
5. Do not start work. In a direct-install program the partner books and pays the contractor. Work you arrange yourself before approval is outside the program.

For the engineering side of what these programs install, our guides cover heat pump installation costs, cold climate heat pump performance and the home energy audit process. For a national view of what is still open, see our Canadian energy rebates overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for CGHAP?

Through your province's delivery partner, not the federal government. As of October 2026, NRCan lists programs in British Columbia (BC Hydro or FortisBC), Manitoba (Efficiency Manitoba), Newfoundland and Labrador (takeCHARGE), Nova Scotia (Efficiency Nova Scotia), Prince Edward Island and Quebec (Hydro-Québec).

Can I still get the Canada Greener Homes Loan if I earn too much for CGHAP?

No. NRCan says funding for the loan is fully committed and new applications cannot be approved.

Is CGHAP available in Ontario?

Not as of October 28, 2026. Ontario had no CGHAP link on NRCan's program page. Income-eligible Ontario households can look at Save on Energy's Energy Affordability Program, which offers free upgrades including heat pumps for electrically heated and oil-heated homes.

What are the CGHAP income limits?

There is no single national table. Each partner sets its own. Efficiency Manitoba uses total household income before deductions (for example, $85,968 for four people); takeCHARGE in Newfoundland and Labrador uses net income less tax payable ($131,100 for four people).

How much money does CGHAP give?

NRCan describes CGHAP as no-cost retrofits rather than a fixed grant. The delivery partner pays the contractors directly for approved upgrades; takeCHARGE says its incentives can cover up to 100% of the cost of the upgrades.

Can tenants get CGHAP upgrades?

In some provinces. NRCan says the program serves homeowners and tenants. Manitoba's program accepts renters and landlords, Quebec's heat pump offer is open to low-income tenants, and Newfoundland and Labrador accepts landlord applications with tenant conditions.

When to Check Again

The province list is the part of this page most likely to change. NRCan updated the CGHAP page on October 16, 2026 and says it will add provincial and territorial links as they become available, and the program is moving to Environment and Climate Change Canada. takeCHARGE says its next available funding comes in April 2027. If your province is not listed today, check the NRCan page again before winter planning and again in the spring.

About the Editorial Team EnergyBS reviews public program rules, product specifications, utility rates, and reader-facing cost assumptions. Treat savings figures as estimates until you verify local prices, permits, rebates, and contractor quotes.