Ottawa says it will spend up to $250 million over four years to make home heating more affordable for Canadians.
The money, announced on Thursday, will be invested through the federal government’s Low Carbon Economy Fund.
It will be designed to help those who use home heating oil move to other heating sources, like electric heat pumps.
“By helping households transition from home heating oil to more affordable and greener heating sources, we can help Canadians save thousands of dollars on yearly energy bills, all while fighting climate change,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault
Nearly half of the funding, or about $120 million, will go to Atlantic Canada, where an estimated 30 per cent of homes currently use oil.
It is believed the money could help between 10,000 and 25,000 lower-income households across the country, with more than two in five of those in Atlantic Canada.
Earlier in September, Atlantic premiers asked Ottawa for more time to submit their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We are deeply concerned about the affordability impacts of carbon pricing on households in our region, especially as almost 40 percent of Atlantic Canadians experience energy poverty – by far the highest rate in the country,” the letter said.
The premiers also said they were worried the costs of energy will only make the current pressures stemming from sky-high inflation more challenging for Atlantic Canadians.
Guilbeault rejected their last-minute request and noted the provinces have had a year to prepare their submissions and the deadlines were “clearly and repeatedly communicated.”
But the minister said he was committed to working with Atlantic provinces to identify “practical programming solutions on the specific home heating concerns that they have raised.”
“We committed to Atlantic Canada that we would come to the table with more help for home energy costs, and today we are delivering on that promise,” Guilbeault said on Thursday.
The money will be given to provincial and territorial governments, which can use their allocations to extend or expand current energy efficiency programs that support the transition from home heating oil to cleaner systems.
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