Electrification is the fastest-growing category of residential trade work in Canada right now: heat pumps replacing oil, propane and electric-baseboard heat, EV chargers going onto home panels, rooftop solar tied to net metering, and the electrical-panel upgrades that make all of it possible. For a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech or general renovator, this is a real and durable book of work, driven by government rebate programs and rising fuel and electricity costs. The catch is that the money side is high-churn: the rebates that make these jobs attractive to homeowners change constantly, so the contractors who win this work are the ones who understand both the trade and the program rules.
What "electrification" actually covers
Electrification, in plain terms, is replacing things that burn fuel with things that run on electricity, and upgrading the home's wiring to carry the new load. For trades, that breaks down into a handful of growing job types:
- Heat pumps. Air-source and ground-source units that both heat and cool, replacing oil furnaces, propane, and electric baseboards. This is the single biggest growth area (see Heat Pump Installation Work).
- EV chargers. Level 2 (240-volt) home chargers, plus larger commercial and multi-unit installs, all of which are electrical work that needs a permit and a load calculation (see EV Charger Installs: Permits and Load Calcs).
- Solar PV. Rooftop systems tied to the grid through net metering (see Solar PV Installs: Net Metering and Sign-Off).
- Panel and service upgrades. Often the prerequisite that unlocks everything else. A 100-amp service frequently cannot carry a heat pump and an EV charger at once.
- Heat pump water heaters, battery storage, and the broader electrification stack that follows on once a home starts down this path.
Why the work is growing
Three forces are pushing this. First, government programs put real money toward switching homes off fuel heating, especially oil. Second, fuel and electricity prices and the simple economics of efficient heat pumps make the switch attractive on its own. Third, EV adoption keeps adding home-charging jobs. The federal consumer carbon charge ended on 1 April 2025, which removed one talking point, but it did not slow the underlying shift, because the rebates and the equipment economics are what drive homeowner decisions, not the carbon line on a fuel bill (see Carbon Pricing for Trades).
The rebate landscape is the opportunity and the trap
The reason this work is lucrative is that programs subsidise it, which makes the homeowner's decision much easier. The reason it is risky is that those programs move fast. The original Canada Greener Homes Grant closed to new applicants in February 2024 and wound up entirely at the end of 2025. The interest-free Greener Homes Loan closed in January 2026. They were replaced by the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) and the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program (OHPA), both delivered through the provinces and territories rather than directly by the federal government. Provincial utilities and efficiency agencies run their own programs on top. Budgets run out, rates get cut, and streams pause or close, sometimes without much notice.
That is why you will not find a single dollar figure quoted in these guides. The discipline that protects you and your client is simple: programs and amounts change frequently, so check the current offer at the program's own page or the authority before you quote anyone. A stale number that the homeowner then does not receive is the fastest route to a complaint.
The contractor who wins this work
Two things separate the contractors who do well in electrification from those who chase it and lose money:
- They get registered. Most rebate programs only pay out when the installing contractor is on the program's approved or registered list. Being a great installer is not enough if you are not on the list (see Becoming a Registered Program Contractor).
- They check before they quote. They confirm the program is open and funded, confirm they are registered, and confirm the exact equipment model is on the eligible-product list, all before they price the job.
Where the demand sits
Demand is strongest where the switch saves the most. Atlantic Canada has heavy oil-heat use, which is why oil-to-heat-pump work and the OHPA program are most active there, though some provincial streams have wound down as funding was used up. Ontario, BC and Quebec have large, organised provincial programs that keep a steady flow of heat pump, solar and panel work. The Prairies have more modest provincial rebates but the same underlying EV and panel-upgrade demand. The pattern everywhere is that the trade work follows the funding, and the funding moves, so staying current is part of the job.
Common mistakes
- Treating this as a one-off rather than a book of work. The homeowner who installs a heat pump often needs a panel upgrade, then looks at an EV charger and solar. Position yourself for the whole stack.
- Quoting a rebate figure from memory. The most common and most costly error in this work. Check the live program page every time.
- Skipping registration. If you are not on the program list, the homeowner does not get the rebate, and that becomes your problem.
- Ignoring the panel. Most electrification stalls on service capacity. Lead with the load calculation, not the appliance.
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