Confidence: Verified for active and closed status of each program, payment ceilings, and Ontario delivery channel, all confirmed against Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) program pages and Government of Canada press releases within the last 90 days (May 2026). Income thresholds are periodically revised — re-verify at canada.ca/heat-pump-grant before promising eligibility.

What this entry covers

The four federally-administered residential energy-efficiency programs that have applied to Ontario in the current cycle:

1. Canada Greener Homes Grant — CLOSED
2. Canada Greener Homes Loan — CLOSED to new applicants
3. Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program (OHPA) — ACTIVE in Ontario via IESO
4. Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) — NOT YET LAUNCHED in Ontario

All four are administered by NRCan at the federal level; OHPA and CGHAP are co-delivered with provinces. The Greener Homes Grant and Loan were uniform-federal programs.

1. Canada Greener Homes Grant — CLOSED

• Status: Closed to new applications February 5, 2024. Final document upload deadline was December 31, 2025. NRCan page header (as of January 2026): "Status: This program is closed."
• Final totals (NRCan February 2026 update): 406,334 households completed retrofits; $1.8 billion in grants issued.
• B&J implication: Remove all legacy website copy referencing this program as "current."

2. Canada Greener Homes Loan — CLOSED to new applicants

• Status: No further applications can be approved as of October 1, 2025. Applications already approved continue to be processed.
• Defunded: Loan stream defunded in Budget 2025.
• B&J implication: Remove all legacy website copy referencing this loan as available.

3. Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program (federal OHPA) — ACTIVE in Ontario

Status

Active as of NRCan's April 24, 2026 update. In Ontario, delivered exclusively through IESO's Energy Affordability Program (Save on Energy). Homeowners must apply through the Ontario provincial program, not directly to NRCan.

Payment

• Up to $10,000 advance from federal NRCan; up to $5,000 additional where the province has matched.
• In Ontario: Per the Government of Canada press release on canada.ca dated September 20, 2025: "income-qualified households benefit from up to $25,000 in funding ($15,000 in federal funding and $10,000 in provincial funding), plus an upfront payment of $250."
• Reported outcomes (NRCan OHPA at-a-glance, data as of February 2026): average household saves $1,377/year on energy costs; reduces 2.78 t of GHG emissions/year.

Eligibility

• The home's primary heat source must be oil. The NRCan eligibility tool explicitly rejects propane-heated homes. Natural gas and coal are also ineligible.
• Income-qualified: household after-tax income at or below median. Ontario thresholds run from ~$48,200 (1-person household) to ~$127,500+ (7+ person household).
• Home is the owner's primary residence; eligible property types only (single-family, certain semi/townhomes); MURBs of 3+ units ineligible.
• Home must be on an integrated electricity grid.

What it covers

Heat pump equipment + installation, electrical and mechanical upgrades needed to support the heat pump, switchover of associated oil-using systems (e.g., oil water heater → electric or HP water heater), oil tank removal, and ground loops for GSHP.

Critical restriction

OHPA funds only the switch from oil heating to a heat pump. It cannot be used for:

• Oil-to-propane conversions
• Oil-to-natural-gas conversions
• Any oil-equipment replacement (new oil furnace for old oil furnace)
• Any propane customer

Application

The homeowner must apply personally. Third parties (contractors, energy advisors, service organizations) are explicitly prohibited from applying on the homeowner's behalf. In Ontario, the application is routed through Save on Energy's EAP; contractors are pre-selected by IESO delivery agents — the homeowner does not choose.

Sunset risk

Federal funding is winding down. NRCan and several provincial co-deliveries (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) have hard registration deadlines of June 30, 2026. The Ontario IESO stream is accepting applications through October 2026 but warns capacity may close earlier if oversubscribed. The combined federal+provincial Ontario funding envelope is $59.4M ($37.5M federal + $21.4M IESO), targeting 2,140 household installs by end of 2027.

4. Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) — pending in Ontario

• Status (May 2026): A direct-install successor to the Greener Homes Grant for low-to-median-income households. Manitoba was the first province to sign a co-delivery agreement. Ontario has not signed as of May 2026.
• Likely Ontario delivery channel: When/if it launches in Ontario, it will most plausibly roll into the existing EAP/OHPA delivery channel.
• Watch item: Quarterly check for an Ontario co-delivery announcement.

Tax credits

Canada does not currently offer a federal residential energy-efficiency tax credit comparable to the US 25C credit. The Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit (15%, up to $50,000 eligible) and the Home Accessibility Tax Credit are narrowly scoped and not heating-equipment-specific. Not material for typical B&J customers.

Direct answer to the most-asked B&J question

"A homeowner converting from oil to propane (not to a heat pump) — do they qualify for any federal program?"

No. OHPA explicitly excludes any conversion that does not terminate in an electric heat pump. The Greener Homes Grant and Loan are both closed. CGHAP has not launched in Ontario. There is no federal program that pays for an oil-to-propane conversion.

Federal regulatory horizon

The Canada Green Buildings Strategy (July 2024) commits to a regulatory framework to phase out the installation of new oil heating in new construction as early as 2028. Applies to new construction only — not existing-home replacement. Watch for similar regulatory pressure on propane in subsequent strategy updates.

Sources

• NRCan program pages (canada.ca/heat-pump-grant, Greener Homes program status pages)
• Government of Canada press release, canada.ca, September 20, 2025
• Budget 2025 (loan stream defunding)
• Canada Green Buildings Strategy (July 2024)
• IESO Energy Affordability Program documentation