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Canada’s Greener Homes program is ending. Thousands of layoffs could follow

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As the federal government’s popular Canada Greener Homes grant program comes to a close, the energy audit industry could crumble with businesses across the country warning of mass layoffs in the months ahead.

The federal government has signalled the end of the program, which provides up to $5,000 toward energy efficiency upgrades such as insulation, windows and heat pumps. New applications are expected to close by the end of March, but an official timeline is unknown.

In the meantime, business is temporarily booming for companies across the country who conduct the required home energy audits, as homeowners try to secure the grant funding before it dries up.

The surge in business is why Stephen Farrell cancelled all vacations for his staff at VerdaTech Energy Management. Currently, the company completes about 600 assessments a month in Alberta and British Columbia, although he predicts that will plunge to one or two per month once the federal program ends. The company also operates in Ontario.

“We’ve just increased the number of energy advisers across Canada dramatically. Millions and millions and millions of dollars was spent training new energy advisors,” he said. “I would suggest we can lose about 70 per cent of them. They’ll go out of the industry.”

“There’s going to be a massive fallout,” he added.

A red fan is shown inside of a door at the entrance of a house.
A blower door system is one of several pieces of equipment that energy assessors use to measure the airtightness, pressure, and flow of a home. Industry officials fear the end of the Canada Greener Homes program will be bad for business. (Louise Moquin/Radio-Canada)

His advice to customers is to register for the program and have the initial assessment completed. Still, it’s difficult to provide advice to clients or his own staff, since Farrell said there is no clear timeline from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the department which administers the program.

“We have asked and we continue to ask for clarity,” Farrell said. “Please communicate with service organizations clearly in writing what is going on?”

Adding to the confusion is a temporary halt to new applications in Ontario effective Jan. 19 in order to “reconcile all current applicant files.”

Popular program

The grant program was supposed to last seven years, but it has proven so popular that the money is being used up at a faster rate than expected.

The federal grant helped knock $5,000 off the price of installing rooftop solar panels on Nicolas Gautier’s Calgary home. He’s also taking advantage of a related federal program providing an interest-free loan.

“It was sort of a no-brainer for us,” said Gautier of the savings.

Insulation is shown inside the attic of a home.
Eligible upgrades for the Canada Greener Homes grant include attic, wall and basement insulation. (Louise Moquin/Radio-Canada)

The Greener Homes program came into effect on Dec. 1, 2020, with an end date of March 31, 2027, although it always came with a caveat that applications would be accepted until the money is allocated.

In total, the program is worth $2.6 billion including up to 700,000 grants of up to $5,000 and funding for the recruitment and training of energy advisors. “The Canada Greener Homes Initiative will help homeowners save money, create new jobs across Canada for energy advisors and fight climate change,” NRCan said on its website.

As of last month, the program had received 503,604 applications.

The program requires a homeowner to have an energy audit before and after upgrades are made to the residence.

Industry officials describe how the program was designed, in part, to increase the number of trained energy assessors across the country. These workers will be especially crucial in 2025, when proposed changes to the building code could take effect, potentially requiring energy audits on new homes to meet building performance standards.

Job cuts expected

However, if the Canada Greener Homes grant ends in the next few months, industry officials warn of a mass exodus of assessors.

“There’s literally thousands of people whose jobs are on the line,” said Rachael Murphy, co-owner of Energy Werx Alberta, who estimates 98 per cent of her business is tied to the Canada Greener Homes grant. Statistics Canada does not explicitly track the number of people who work as energy assessors.

 

Canada Greener Homes grant could end in February or March, experts warn

4 hours ago

Duration 2:14

Interested homeowners should register quickly and complete their first energy assessment, advises Stephen Farrell with VerdaTech Energy Management.

Becoming an energy assessor can take between three and six months for training and writing exams, said Murphy, adding that the job requires about $10,000 worth of equipment. The abrupt end to the program is like pulling the rug out from under people who joined the profession to have a stable career, she said.

“There’s no way we’re going to have the amount of business for the staff that we have now if this program ends, so it’s incredibly concerning,” Murphy added.

New applications still viable, official says

NRCan declined an interview request. In a statement, a department spokesperson said the program will accept new applications until all currently available funds are awarded, and Canadians who have already started an application will remain eligible for assistance.

In addition, the spokesperson said many applications that are already logged in the system will be granted over the next two years or more.

The potential job losses extend to other industries providing the energy upgrades such as window installers, HVAC companies and solar panel providers.

Alberta-based company Zeno Renewables ihas grown from about 20 staff to about 200 over the last four years, but the end of the federal grant program means the company expects sales to drop by as much as 40 per cent this year compared to 2023.

“The last thing we want to do is lay people off, but that’s an inevitable conversation,” said Gursh Bal, the solar energy company’s co-CEO. “2024 is going to be a rough year.”

He too is urging the federal government to provide a clear answer on the fate of the grant funding program, so there is some level of certainty on what happens next instead of relying on rumours and hearsay.

 

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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