N.B. only Atlantic province where you can’t get $15,000 federal rebate

OTTAWA • New Brunswick is now the only province in Atlantic Canada where you can’t get the federal government’s full $15,000 grant to cover the cost of switching from heating oil to a heat pump.

After signing an agreement with Prince Edward Island earlier this month, the federal government now has co-delivery heat pump rebate arrangements with every Atlantic province except New Brunswick.

It means New Brunswickers are only able to get up to $10,000 from Ottawa.

That’s as new question marks emerge over the future of existing efficiency programs that New Brunswick currently offers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set off a political uproar late last year when he announced that the feds were temporarily removing carbon pricing from heating oil, and subsequently increased heat pump grants in provinces that agreed to partner on the program.

Trudeau suggested that by topping up the grant, heat pumps would be essentially free for those who qualify.

The initial federal grant was up to $10,000.

That money is still available to most New Brunswick families, with the income cut off being $121,900 after tax for a household of four.

That cut off is $75,325 after tax for a household of two.

The grant was then increased to up to $15,000.

But only residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia are currently eligible for the grant increase, because they’re the only ones with a provincial partnership to deliver it.

“Under the co-delivery regime, homeowners can access up to $15,000 in grant money to purchase a heat pump thanks to grant matching with a provincial contribution,” Natural Resources Canada spokesperson Robin Librach confirmed in an email to Brunswick News after announcing P.E.I. as the latest province with a co-delivery deal.

Librach added: “Natural Resources Canada is presently in active negotiations with the province of New Brunswick with the objective of entering into a co-delivery agreement for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program.”

She didn’t provide a timeline on when a deal could be reached.

Without an agreement with Ottawa, Librach said that New Brunswickers are also missing out on a one-time bonus payment of $250 the feds have tacked onto the increase to entice people to sign up.

A stumbling block in coming to an agreement with the feds is that Ottawa’s program would allow higher-earning New Brunswickers to get rebates, compared to the cut of NB Power’s current program, according to officials.

There needs to be common ground on who can qualify.

The income cut off for the federal program is as high as $126,500 after tax for a household of five or more, and then $121,900 for a household of four, $100,050 for three, $75,325 for two, and $36,800 for a single family household.

New Brunswick has the Enhanced Energy Savings Program, targeting homes in need of energy efficiency upgrades, but also those who heat their home exclusively with oil.

It includes a rebate for heat pumps.

That program is targeted at New Brunswick homeowners with an annual combined gross household income under $70,000.

The upgrades are free to the homeowner, with no set limit.

The feds have been contributing to the funding of that program as well.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced $20 million in federal money toward the enhanced energy program when he visited the province in March, money returning to the province via a carbon tax on heavy industry in New Brunswick.

But he also signaled that “many more announcements” related to heat pumps were to come.

There’s also the Total Home Energy Savings Program in New Brunswick, NB Power’s most popular program, covering upgrades to existing residential homes for households with a gross annual household income under $125,000.

That has a heat pump incentive ranging up to $2,000, according to the program’s details.

It sees homeowners first undertake an energy audit to determine what particular measures they could implement in order to save energy, paying $99 for the audit with the utility paying the remainder.

There are then rebates for certain upgrades.

NB Power spokesperson D’Arcy Walsh said New Brunswick homeowners with an annual combined gross household income under $70,000 are eligible for the Enhanced Energy Savings Program, and those above that threshold can access the federal fund, “plus an incentive from NB Power for installing a cold climate heat pump system.”

Walsh confirmed talks are underway between NB Power, the province, and the feds on a co-delivery program to “receive the full $15,000.”

In a statement provided by spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane, the Higgs government touted its existing program that it said “already covers 100 per cent of costs for households with combined income of under $70,000.”

“This is significantly larger than the amount being offered by the federal government,” reads the statement. “Our program was designed intentionally to help those who need it the most.

“The federal government introduced their program after New Brunswick’s program was put in place, and they have chosen a different income threshold than New Brunswick.”

That said, it added that the province is still “in discussions with Ottawa to see if we can work together on program delivery.

“We currently have a proposal submitted with the feds for their review, and are awaiting their response,” the statement concludes.

NB Power has budgeted $12.5 million in the current fiscal year for its larger home renovation program, making it the utility’s single largest rebate program.

But questions of its future were raised at a recent rate hearing.

At a New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board hearing earlier this month into a recent power rate hike, NB Power’s Ted Leopkey said the utility is currently considering changes to the program.

NB Power has found that it is getting even more back in savings from the program than it’s spending, roughly double, as New Brunswickers use less electricity after retrofits, and the utility, in turn, purchases less power.

That’s as New Brunswickers themselves were actually saving less than NB Power had forecasted.

Still, the utility hasn’t adjusted the size of rebates flowing to New Brunswickers, noting a component used in step with the total home program, known as the federal greener homes grant, has been discontinued.

Ottawa was paying out up to $5,000 per household in federal money to complete energy efficiency retrofits under the NB Power program, with the utility providing additional dollars.

Leopkey said the program will continue in some fashion in September, but that the utility doesn’t know exactly how it will look just yet.

“Our goal is to have the new measures in place by September of this year,” he said.

Walsh said in a statement that “NB Power is reviewing the Total Home Energy Savings Program to increase customer value and ensure it optimizes efficiency measures that reduce customer bills and improve comfort.

“The analysis is ongoing and details have yet to be determined,” Walsh said.

“There are no plans to stop the Total Home Energy Savings Program.”

The utility has budgeted $12.9 million in 2025-26 towards the program, and $13.9 million in 2026-27.

Meanwhile, the Higgs government has suggested that money is no longer the barrier to getting more New Brunswickers to switch to heat pumps.

Brunswick News reported earlier this year that companies that have signed up to install mini-split heat pumps and air-cooling units are running at full capacity.

It led the Energy minister to state in April that there was no point in his Progressive Conservative government pumping even more funds into the program.

“Money won’t fix it,” Mike Holland told the legislature’s standing committee on estimates and fiscal policy. “It would be great if we could invest everything we can, but the supplier network, with every fully qualified member, is working full-tilt.

“So we couldn’t get any more done right now even if we did throw the money at it. Our contractor network is working at full steam.”

The lower-income program expects to complete 12,600 retrofits, either converting baseboard electric or oil-heated homes to new devices that save energy, this year.

Holland said by the end of the fiscal year March 31, 2025, the provincial and federal governments will have spent about $189 million providing the free devices, along with free insulation and crack filling for those 12,600 households.

That’s as thousands remain on a waiting list.

The Higgs government acknowledged that demand “has put strain on the existing workforce to install heat pumps that have currently been approved as part of the program.

“Progress continues to be made, and more New Brunswickers are benefiting from this program every week,” it added.