One in Five Canadians Say Home Heating Costs Are a ‘Financial Burden’: Federal Research

Twenty-one percent of Canadians say rising home heating costs are a "financial burden," according to a study contracted by a federal department. Steve Parsons/PA Media

One-fifth of Canadians say rising home heating costs are a “financial burden,” according to a study contracted by a federal department, which also found that a majority of homeowners pay over $200 a month on heating bills.

“Just over one in five Canadian homeowners (21%) indicated that the energy costs of their primary residence are a significant financial burden to them,” reads a report contracted by the Department of Natural Resources, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The research, which was conducted by Leger Marketing Inc. between Feb. 18 and March 31, 2022, also found that Canadian homeowners making less than $60,000 were “more likely than other homeowners to consider their home’s energy costs to be a financial burden.”

Leger posed questions for the study to over 2,900 Canadians residing across the country—mostly home-owning adults. Over 1,100 of the individuals interviewed for the study were Ontario residents.

“Three quarters (75%) of homeowners who consider their home energy costs to be a burden, as well as those for whom energy costs are not a burden, were not aware of any energy efficiency programs in their region or municipality,” the report said.

Leger also found that 61 percent of Canadians who found home-heating costs to be burdensome said the cost of upgrading their heating systems to be more efficient was too great.

“Half of the homeowners (55%) who responded to the survey indicated that they do not plan to purchase any energy efficient items,” the report said.

“Slightly less than half (44%) of them indicated having made home energy improvements in the last 5 years, while almost one fifth of them stated that no renovation was ever made to improve their home’s energy efficiency.”

Taxes

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced a motion to the House of Commons in October 2022 to exempt home heating fuel from the soon-to-be-raised federal carbon tax. The motion was defeated 116-202, with the majority of Liberal, NDP, and Bloc Québécois MPs voting against it.

Poilievre included in the text of his motion part of a letter to the federal government from Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who petitioned for home-heating fuels to be exempted from the federal carbon tax raise in April 2023.

“A year ago today, the maximum price of furnace oil in the Province was 97.91 cents per litre. Today’s price is 155.70, which is an increase of nearly 60 percent,” Furey wrote in the letter on Sept. 2, 2022.

Furey added that the proposed carbon tax increase on furnace oil “would result in an additional 17.38 cents plus HST.”

“Added to today’s price, [the carbon tax raise] would result in a total cost increase of 80 per cent compared to one year ago.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also called on the Trudeau government last year to both cancel the federal carbon tax and to pause the federal fuel tax.

“Elimination of the carbon tax entirely, along with temporarily pausing federal fuel taxes, would assist millions of Canadians to better cope with this inflation crisis,” Smith said on Nov. 9.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced in November a new $250 million federal grant to help low- and middle-income families replace their oil-pump home-heating systems with electric equivalents.

Individuals and families who meet the annual income threshold, which is $26,570 for one person and $53,140 for a family of four, can claim up to $5,000 through the grant.

Andrew Chen and Rachel Emmanuel contributed to this report.