Rebate marketing means making incentives the reason a homeowner contacts you, while telling the truth about who qualifies. Done well, it fills your calendar with buyers who are ready to move. Done badly, it fills it with tire-kickers who expected free equipment and leave a bad review when they don't get it.
We are a marketing and business consulting service, not a contractor. We build the campaigns and pages; your licensed team does the selling, sizing and installing.
What it is, and why it matters in 2026
Rebate marketing is a set of province-specific pages, ads and follow-up messages built around the incentives a homeowner can actually use today.
The landscape is unusually unsettled. On 2026-10-08 the federal government announced a National Heat Pump Rebate Program: $2 billion over eight years, with up to $10,000 for below-median-income households and $2,000 for other eligible homeowners on eligible cold-climate air-source units. As of October 2026 it is described as launching in 2027, with no administrator or start date published. Meanwhile several older federal programs have closed and provincial programs have changed their rules.
That creates a specific problem: homeowners who would have bought this fall now wonder whether to wait. Your marketing needs an answer that is honest and still gives them a reason to talk to you now.
Who it's for
- Installers in provinces with an active heat-pump incentive, such as Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (see the areas hub for each).
- Companies whose phones ring with rebate questions their website doesn't answer.
- Owners who have had rebate-related complaints and want clearer expectations up front.
It is a weaker fit where no active consumer incentive exists, such as Nunavut as of October 2026. There, we lean on comparison content and running-cost education instead.
What's included
- An incentive map for your service area: each relevant program, its administrator, its status as of a stated date and a link to the official page.
- A rebate hub page on your site, plus short program pages where search demand justifies them.
- A "should I wait?" explainer for the federal announcement, updated when details are published.
- Ad copy and extensions that mention incentives without promising eligibility.
- Intake questions for your call takers, so rebate leads are qualified on the first call.
- A review schedule: every incentive statement is checked at least quarterly and whenever an administrator announces a change.
The claims rules we write to
Incentive marketing sits close to two areas the Competition Bureau watches: misleading price claims and environmental claims. We don't give legal advice, but we follow a few house rules:
- Never present a rebate as certain or automatic.
- Show the full price clearly; a net-of-rebate figure is always labelled as conditional. The Bureau's page on drip pricing explains why hidden mandatory fees are a problem.
- Date every program statement and link the administrator.
- Keep emissions and savings claims specific and supportable, or leave them out.
Timeline
- Week 1: incentive map and audit of your current rebate content.
- Weeks 2–3: rebate hub, "should I wait?" explainer and revised ad copy.
- Week 4 onward: call-taker script, tracking and the quarterly review cycle.
How results are measured
We track rebate-driven work separately, because it behaves differently:
- calls and messages that mention an incentive
- the share of those that book an assessment
- the close rate on rebate quotes vs non-rebate quotes
- complaints or cancellations caused by eligibility surprises (the number we want near zero)
Mistakes to avoid
- Copying another installer's rebate page. Their service area, programs and dates may not match yours.
- Leading with "free heat pump". Income-qualified, no-cost programs exist in some provinces, but most callers won't qualify, and the disappointment lands on you.
- Leaving dead programs online. A page promising a closed grant costs trust and calls.
- Ignoring the wait question. Silence lets a competitor answer it.
Our rebate marketing playbook goes deeper, with a sample page outline. For ongoing coverage of program changes, the team at HeatPumpNews.ca tracks openings and closures by province. Plans that include rebate campaigns are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Should we advertise the 2027 federal heat pump rebate now?
You can explain that it was announced and link the federal release, but as of October 2026 it isn't open and its administrator hasn't been published. Don't advertise it as available, and don't quote a customer an amount they may not receive.
Can our ads show the price after rebates?
Only with care. A net price depends on eligibility you haven't confirmed, so show the full installed price clearly and present the incentive as a possible reduction the customer must qualify for. The Competition Bureau's guidance on drip pricing and misleading claims is worth reading first.
Who keeps the program details current?
We do, for the pages we build. Each rebate page carries an 'as of' date and a link to the administrator, and we review incentive content whenever a program changes or at least every quarter.
Do you submit rebate applications for our customers?
No. We are a marketing service and never act for homeowners. Your team or the administrator handles applications; we help you explain that process clearly.