The breakdown for Thunder Bay homeowners
Enbridge Gas customers, air-source
If you're on Enbridge Gas and switching to a cold-climate air-source unit.
Enbridge Gas customers, ground-source
Flat rebate for ground-source systems replacing gas heat.
Electric, oil, propane, or wood, air-source
The larger rebate tier applies if you're not currently on gas.
Electric, oil, propane, or wood, ground-source
The top rebate on this page — ground-source, non-gas households.
Synergy North supplies Thunder Bay's electricity and Enbridge Gas supplies natural gas — which of the two you're heating with today determines which tier you fall into. Whatever unit you choose has to be on Natural Resources Canada's qualified cold-climate products list.
A closed program used to leave Thunder Bay out — that's no longer true
An older program called HomeEnergySaver once excluded Thunder Bay from its heat pump rebates while including nearby Kenora. That program is closed, and its rebates now live inside the Home Renovation Savings Program described above, which applies fully to Thunder Bay.
What you'll actually save each month
The rebate tiers above only tell you what you get upfront. Whether the switch pays for itself in a reasonable time comes down to comparing what you'll spend on electricity against what Synergy North or Enbridge Gas customers are paying now — and that needs current rates, not a general estimate.
- Electricity (OEB Regulated Price Plan, Nov 2025–Oct 2026): Synergy North delivers the power, but the rate is set provincially by the OEB. Time-of-use: off-peak 9.8¢/kWh, mid-peak 15.7¢/kWh, on-peak 20.3¢/kWh, averaging 12.8¢/kWh. Tiered: 12.0¢/kWh then 14.2¢/kWh past the monthly threshold. (See the OEB rate report →)
- Natural gas (Enbridge Gas): Enbridge's rate changes quarterly and by delivery zone, so there's no fixed figure worth printing here — check the current one before doing the comparison yourself. (Check Enbridge's current rate →)
A cold-climate heat pump typically moves 2.5–3.5 units of heat per unit of electricity it draws, its coefficient of performance — the reason it beats electric baseboard heat on cost even at the same rate. Given Thunder Bay's average January low of -14.2°C and a coldest night on record of -31.9°C, that ratio holds up for most of a typical winter here but tapers on the harshest nights, when Lake Superior's cold isn't offering the moderating effect it gives some other Great Lakes cities.
Get a number built for your own house: our free assessment tool uses your current bill and system for a real payback estimate.
How to claim it
- Complete the eligibility form on the Save on Energy portal
- Select a participating HVAC contractor
- Get mandatory pre-installation approval before work starts
- Installation is completed
- Contractor submits the post-installation application
- Rebate cheque arrives within 60 days of approval
Heat pump installers in Thunder Bay
We're still building our verified installer network in Thunder Bay. In the meantime, browse our full directory of vetted installers across Ontario — several serve the Northwestern Ontario region.
Browse the installer directory →
Common questions
How much is the heat pump rebate in Thunder Bay?
It depends on your current heating fuel. Enbridge Gas customers get up to $2,000 for air-source or $3,000 for ground-source. Households switching from electric, oil, propane, or wood get up to $7,500 (air-source) or $12,000 (ground-source). Same structure across Ontario.
Was Thunder Bay ever excluded from a heat pump rebate?
Yes, historically. HomeEnergySaver excluded Thunder Bay while including nearby Kenora. That program is closed and its heat pump rebates are now part of the Home Renovation Savings Program, which does not exclude Thunder Bay.
Thunder Bay Hydro bills the city; the province sets the rebate
Thunder Bay Hydro is the local utility, separate from the provincial program that actually funds the rebate amounts above, so it doesn't change what you qualify for either way. Where Thunder Bay Hydro does matter is on the installation side: it's who your contractor contacts if the job needs a panel-capacity increase, and being a single-city utility rather than a sprawling multi-municipality one, requests here tend to move through a shorter chain. No Thunder Bay Hydro-specific heat pump incentive has turned up in our research so far.
Lake Superior's cold, not its usual moderating self
You'd think being next to the largest Great Lake by surface area would soften Thunder Bay's winters the way Lake Ontario softens Burlington's. Lake Superior is deep, cold, and often partly ice-covered for stretches of winter, though, so it doesn't offer much of that moderating effect here. The 10-year average January low is -14.2°C (2015-2024), with a coldest night on record of -31.9°C. A cold-climate heat pump rated to around -25°C covers a typical Thunder Bay winter comfortably, though its harshest nights push past that mark.
Next steps
View all Thunder Bay rebate programs → or check the official Home Renovation Savings Program site → for the current source of truth.