VICTORIA – British Columbia’s government says it is spending $100 million over two years to expand its rebate program, hoping to install more than 8,000 heat pumps to homes across the province.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix says the province is expanding its CleanBC Energy Savings Program to support the installation of heat pumps in homes within multi-unit residential complexes, starting later this year.
The program, which offers rebates to low- and moderate-income households to help with the costs of energy retrofits, was originally launched last June.
Dix, who was accompanied by B.C. Green Party Interim Leader Jeremy Valeriote, says the government chose to focus on affordability in reviewing its CleanBC program, and renewed support for the heat-pump rebate was the result.
The federal government ended its carbon tax on April 1 and B.C. followed, drawing criticism from the Greens, but Dix says the New Democrats remain committed to fighting climate change using other tools.
He adds that the government, under its confidence agreement with the Greens, has committed to review the entire CleanBC portfolio together to determine the future of its after the consumer tax was repealed, and the results of the reviews will be announced later.
“We have to look at all the programs,” Dix says. “And we’re doing that like everyone else is, especially in light of the fiscal situation facing the province.
“This one (the heat-pump rebate), we think, makes sense for families, makes sense for affordability, and makes sense for the province as a really cost-efficient way to address climate change.”
The province unveiled its latest budget in March, where the deficit is forecasted to top $10 billion for the first time in the current fiscal year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.
