Several provinces and territories help lower-income households pay for home heating, with amounts from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Most programs open in the fall and need a new application every year. Here is what is available for the 2026–27 winter, with figures as of September 2026.
Where a province has not yet posted its 2026–27 details, the figures shown are from last season and say so.
Nova Scotia: Heating Assistance Rebate Program
- Amount: $400 per household
- Who: last season, people living alone with a net income of $30,000 or less, other households with $45,000 or less, and people on the GIS, the Allowance or Income Assistance
- When: applications open October 1, 2026. Last season’s deadline was March 31.
All heat sources count, including oil, wood, electricity and propane. Read the full guide: Nova Scotia Heating Assistance Rebate.
New Brunswick: Emergency Fuel Benefit
New Brunswick’s Home Energy Assistance Program, a one-time $100 payment, has not been announced for 2026–27. The main help now is the Emergency Fuel Benefit: up to $550 per calendar year for any household in a heating emergency, whether or not they are on social assistance. People on social assistance can also get a Fuel Supplement from November to April.
Read the full guide: New Brunswick home energy assistance.
Prince Edward Island: PEI Home Heating Program
- Amount: up to $1,200 per calendar year
- Who: single people with a gross income of $45,000 or less, and families with $60,000 or less, who pay their own heat and are not on PEI Social Assistance
- When: year-round, through The Salvation Army
PEI’s Winter Warming Program also makes free energy-saving upgrades for households with incomes of $50,000 or less. Read the full guide: PEI heating assistance.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Home Heating Supplement
- Amount: $200 to $500
- Who: households that bought at least 250 litres of furnace or stove oil in 2026, with a 2025 adjusted family net income of $150,000 or less. The full $500 goes to incomes of $100,000 or less.
- Deadline: January 15, 2027
Only furnace and stove oil count. Read the full guide: Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Supplement.
Ontario: OESP and LEAP
Ontario helps with electricity and gas bills instead of fuel costs.
- Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP): a monthly credit of $35 to $75 on your electricity bill, or $52 to $113 if you heat with electricity, use certain medical devices, or have an Indigenous household member. The income limit goes up to $71,000 after tax, depending on household size. Apply any time.
- Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP): emergency help if you are behind on your bill and may be disconnected. It pays up to $650 for electricity ($780 for electrically heated homes) and $650 for natural gas, straight to your utility. Apply through a local intake agency.
Read the full guide: Ontario Electricity Support Program.
Manitoba: Energy Efficiency Assistance Program and Manitoba Hydro bill help
Manitoba does not have a heating rebate that pays you money. Instead, Efficiency Manitoba pays for upgrades that make your home cheaper to heat, and Manitoba Hydro offers help if you fall behind.
- What you get: a free home energy assessment, free insulation for attics, walls and basements, and free items such as a smart thermostat and LED bulbs. A high-efficiency natural gas furnace costs you $9.50 a month for five years if it replaces a standard-efficiency furnace, or $25 a month if it replaces a mid-efficiency one. Electrically heated homes can get a free heat pump.
- Who: homeowners and renters in single-detached or semi-detached homes who live there year-round, with household income before deductions of up to $46,264 for one person, $57,595 for two, $70,806 for three and $85,968 for four, as of September 2026. Larger households have higher limits.
- How: apply online through the Energy Efficiency Assistance Program.
If you are behind on your Manitoba Hydro bill, call 1-888-624-9376. You can set up a payment arrangement, or combine what you owe and your current charges into one monthly payment. Neighbours Helping Neighbours, run by The Salvation Army, gives one-time emergency money to low-income customers facing disconnection. During the heating season, Manitoba Hydro can still disconnect you or fit a load limiter, which cuts power to 15 amps (enough to run a furnace), if you have an overdue balance and have not worked out a payment plan. See Manitoba Hydro’s bill help.
Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) covers heat and electricity as part of shelter benefits. Low-income renters who are not on EIA can apply for Rent Assist, which helps with rent and utilities.
Alberta: Winter disconnection rules and emergency help
Alberta has no heating rebate for lower-income households. Its help is aimed at keeping your heat on.
- Winter rules: Alberta Utilities Commission rules do not allow electricity to be disconnected from October 15 to April 15, or natural gas from November 1 to April 15, or at any time when the temperature will be below 0°C in the next 24 hours. A load limiter can still be put on your electricity meter.
- Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA): if you cannot agree on a payment plan with your provider, the UCA can help arrange one for you, and its Winter Utility Reconnection Program works to get disconnected homes reconnected. Call 310-4822, or 1-888-644-6608 from outside Alberta. See UCA financial assistance.
- Emergency help: if you have been disconnected, or disconnection is due within five days, apply online for emergency financial assistance, mark it as an urgent utility disconnection and upload the notice. It is reviewed within 24 hours. Without internet, call 1-877-644-9992.
- Lower-income seniors: Special Needs Assistance for Seniors can pay overdue gas, electricity or water bills, once every three years for each utility, when service is cut off or will be within 48 hours. Income must be $32,690 or less for a single senior, or $53,800 or less for a couple.
The Alberta Energy Rebate pays $100 per person to adults with household income of $225,000 or less who filed a 2025 tax return. Applications close October 31, 2026, after Alberta extended the original September 30 deadline. People on the Alberta Seniors Benefit, AISH or Income Support get it automatically. The Natural Gas Rebate Program credits your gas bill automatically in any month the price goes above $6.50 per gigajoule. No rebate was paid for September 2026.
Saskatchewan: Energy Assistance Program and Income Support
Saskatchewan has no heating rebate. Help comes from its Crown utilities and from Saskatchewan Income Support.
- SaskPower Energy Assistance Program: free upgrades such as LED bulbs, a block heater timer and, if eligible, a smart thermostat. Owners and renters with the power bill in their name qualify with income before tax of up to $54,335 for one person, $76,840 for two, $94,110 for three and $114,730 for four. Apply at SaskPower or call 306-910-7304.
- SaskEnergy Heating Affordability Program: a free high-efficiency furnace for homeowners in the Energy Assistance Program whose furnace was made in 1999 or earlier, with lower income limits (for example, $40,400 for one person). Only 50 furnaces are funded from June 30, 2026 to January 31, 2027, first come, first served. You cannot apply directly. SaskEnergy contacts eligible homeowners. See the Heating Affordability Program.
- Saskatchewan Income Support: the monthly Shelter Benefit covers rent or mortgage, utilities and other housing costs. An Alternate Heating Benefit of $190 a month helps if natural gas is not available where you live. Call 1-866-221-5200 or see Saskatchewan Income Support.
If you are behind on a SaskPower bill, you can set up a payment arrangement to pay the balance in instalments or ask for a deferral. SaskPower calls disconnection “an absolute last resort”. See trouble paying your bill. For a SaskEnergy bill, call 1-800-567-8899.
British Columbia: Crisis Supplement
B.C. does not have a general heating rebate. People on income assistance or disability assistance who face an unexpected emergency can ask for a crisis supplement, a one-time payment to prevent imminent danger to health. For heat, it can help if you are behind on a BC Hydro or FortisBC bill and face disconnection, or if you are at risk of running out of fuel such as heating oil, firewood or propane. The amount depends on need. Contact your local ministry office or Service BC office, and see the province’s crisis supplement policy.
B.C. renters can also claim up to $400 through the B.C. renter’s tax credit. It is not a heating program, but it helps with the cost of renting.
Northwest Territories: Senior Home Heating Subsidy
- Amount for 2026–27: $460 a month in Zone 1 ($3,680 total), $560 in Zone 2 ($4,480) and $750 in Zone 3 ($6,000), paid September to April
- Who: residents aged 60 or older who are not on Income Assistance, with household incomes up to $66,000, $75,000 or $87,000, depending on the zone
- Deadline: apply any time up to March 15, 2027
Read more: NWT Senior Home Heating Subsidy.
Yukon: Pioneer Utility Grant
The Pioneer Utility Grant helps Yukon seniors aged 65 and older with heating costs, whether they own or rent. For 2025, the maximum was $1,340.94 inside Whitehorse city limits and $1,448.21 outside, reduced by income. Applications for 2025 were taken from July 1 to December 31, 2025. The 2026 amounts could not be confirmed. Check yukon.ca for this year’s figures.
Common questions
Which program gives the most help with heating costs?
Of the programs on this page, the NWT Senior Home Heating Subsidy is the largest, at up to $6,000 for the 2026–27 season. Among the provinces, PEI’s Home Heating Program pays the most, up to $1,200 a year.
Do you need to apply every year?
For most programs, yes. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the NWT and Yukon all need a new application each year. Ontario’s OESP lasts two years, or five for people aged 65 and older.
Where can you find other help?
Check the benefits checkup for other help, and the deadlines page for dates coming up.
Should you pay a fee to get a heating rebate?
No. No government asks for a payment or gift cards to release a benefit. See the scams page.
