THUNDER BAY – The federal government is moving one step closer to helping homeowners cut down the cost of buying a heat pump while also funding industry-led apprenticeship programs to keep people working in the skilled trades.
Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families, announced two funding streams at Klimit Mechanical Ltd. on Friday morning, which she says pair well together.
She said Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $2 billion heat pump support program last week to help Canadians reduce energy costs and improve home energy efficiency.
Homeowners in the middle- to low-income range can get a rebate of up to $10,000 to install a heat pump if they have an older, inefficient furnace, or one that has died. Everyone outside that range can get up to $2,000.
“It’s a great choice because it reduces your overall heating costs. It reduces your reliance on different fuel sources, including electricity, oil, propane or natural gas,” Hajdu said.
Managing director of Klimit, Douglas Cross, says the more people retrofit their homes with a heat pump, the more manufacturers are incentivized to improve the technology to make them more efficient and bring down the cost.
“I welcome it so much because for us, the technology is very expensive. The minister was asking us how much is an average heat pump system. We can do what we call a system, which is an air conditioner and a high-efficiency furnace. We all do them for about the same, about $12,000 plus taxes. A heat pump is $20,000. So, the investment from the government will offset the cost for those people who don’t want to pull the trigger on it. The more product we can move, we get the efficiency back, but without investment in the industry, we’re not going to be able to move this product, and the North needs the investment,” he said.
The second funding announcement is $258.6 million over five years, with $50 million going to address critical skilled labour shortages through industry-led solutions aligned with federal priorities and industrial strategies.
“It’s been a real challenge for a number of decades…I mean, not only do people less and less choose the path in the trades, but getting through the completion of the trades can be really challenging, especially in an area like Northern Ontario where we see sort of starts and stops in construction that can lead to layoffs,” Hajdu said.
“So part of the plan for Team Canada Strong, which is our $8 billion investment in skilled trades, is to not only support the individuals to get into the trades, but also to stay in the trades and to support companies just like Klimit with a rebate for hiring that first-year apprentice, that can often be one of the biggest barriers,” she added.
Hajdu says graduates of skilled trade programs have a tough time finding apprenticeships that will provide them with the hours of training to get a Red Seal.
“They need those supervised hours with a Red Seal welder in that case, or a Red Seal heating and cooling professional plumber, and those partnerships with industry, we want to foster, which is part of the announcement today,” she said.
Cross says the pairing of the two funding streams will, in time, help his business grow. The more people install heat pumps at a reasonable rate, the more people he can hire. Right now, he has 22 employees, and Klimit is set to expand its business in Greenstone.
