TORONTO -- Canadian homeowners can now apply to a new federal government program that offers grants for energy-efficient home upgrades.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan launched the Canada Greener Homes Program on Thursday at a press conference.
First proposed by the government last fall, the program will offer homeowners grants of up to $5,000 that can be put toward the installation of such energy-saving projects as improved insulation or roof panels, high-efficiency water heaters or heating equipment, and solar panels.
The program also includes grants of up to $600 to be put toward home energy audits.
All told, the government expects to award 700,000 grants, at an overall cost of $2.6 billion over seven years.
Applications are available on the Natural Resources Canada website.
The government says that in order for a home to be eligible for these grants, it must be eligible for an EnerGuide evaluation and be at least six months old. Those who own detached homes, rowhouses, townhouses, mobile homes and residential units in mixed-use buildings are all able to apply, as are owners of multi-unit residential buildings that have no more than three floors and a footprint no larger than 600 square metres.
In this year's budget, the government proposed creating a separate fund of $4.4 billion over seven years through which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation could offer homeowners interest-free loans of up to $40,000 in exchange for authorized energy-efficient retrofit projects.
The government says these loans could be available as soon as this summer, and estimates that more than 200,000 households would take part in that program.
With files from CTVNews.ca's Rachel Aiello
