No Canadian household should have to choose between eating, heating, and other essentials. Yet this is an everyday reality for the more than 2.8 million Canadian households struggling to meet their home energy needs, while also paying for other household essentials.

4.5 million Canadians live below the poverty line

These individuals are more likely to be affected by things like rising energy costs, extreme heat and cold, increasing inflation and increasing cost of living. 

While federal programs reduce financial barriers for middle and upper-income Canadians, they do not work for low-income Canadians who cannot afford up-front costs, or assume more debt to finance upgrades. As a result, millions of Canadians get left behind – renters and homeowners alike. 

The solution: A national low-income energy efficiency program

One way to solve the affordability crisis while combating climate change and the impacts of extreme weather events is to launch a low-income energy efficiency program as part of Canada’s net-zero emission reduction strategy. We need a two-billion-dollar investment in the upcoming federal budget to support low-income energy efficiency tailored to provincial and territorial contexts.

There is strong public support for this investment, with 72% of Canadians in favour of government funding toward energy efficiency for low-income housing. This support spans across rural and urban populations, owners and renters, all income groups, voters for all political parties and in all regions*.

Source: Polling: Canadians support low-income energy efficiency, Efficiency Canada

What is energy poverty and how can energy efficiency help?

Check out the following resources to learn more:

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