The short answer
As of August 2026, no federal loan accepts new applications for residential solar in Canada. The October 1, 2025 closure of the Canada Greener Homes Loan left four main ways to finance solar: cash, secured credit such as a HELOC, unsecured loans on approved credit, and property tax attached programs in some municipalities.
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Is there still a federal solar loan in Canada?
No. According to Natural Resources Canada, the Canada Greener Homes Loan is closed to new applicants, and October 1, 2025 was the last day to apply. Homeowners who already received loan approval may continue with their retrofit projects, but the application intake is closed. The Canada Greener Homes Grant closed to new applicants earlier.
This matters because a large share of financing content still ranking online recommends a program you can no longer apply for. As of August 2026, there is no federal loan program accepting new applications for residential solar, so the practical question has moved down a level: what does your province, your city, and your own balance sheet offer instead.
What are the four ways Canadians finance solar in 2026?
Every path to paying for a solar system now falls into one of four buckets. Each trades cost against accessibility differently.
| Option | Secured by | Where available | Main advantage | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | Nothing | Everywhere | Lowest lifetime cost, no interest | Ties up savings; opportunity cost |
| Home equity line of credit or refinance | Your home | Everywhere, on approved credit | Typically the lowest borrowing rates available to homeowners | Puts your home behind the debt; rates float with the market |
| Unsecured personal or green loan | Your credit profile | Everywhere, on approved credit | Fast, no lien on the home | Higher rates than secured options; total interest adds up |
| Property tax attached programs | The property itself | Select municipalities only | Fixed published rates, long terms, and the balance transfers to the buyer if you sell | Only exists where your municipality runs a program; program terms change |
Two one sentence definitions worth knowing. Property Assessed Clean Energy, often called PACE, is financing repaid through your property tax bill rather than a bank payment. A Local Improvement Charge, or LIC, is the mechanism Ontario and Nova Scotia municipalities use to attach that repayment to the property.
No lender approval is automatic. Every borrowed option here is on approved credit or, for property attached programs, subject to the program's own eligibility rules.
Which cities offer property tax attached solar financing?
This is the category most Canadians have never heard of, and it is now the closest thing to the closed federal loan. Availability is municipal, not provincial, so your address decides.
| Program | Where | Key published terms | Status, verified August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) | City of Toronto | Up to $125,000, low fixed rates, terms up to 20 years for projects that include solar, repaid on the property tax bill, no prepayment penalty | Open; eligibility includes a Toronto address, consent of all owners on title, and mortgage lender consent where applicable |
| Durham Greener Homes | Durham Region, Ontario | Low interest loans up to $125,000 at a 2 percent rate over a 15 year term, repaid as a Local Improvement Charge | Delivered by Windfall Ecology Centre with the Region of Durham; not available in Pickering as of August 2026, and availability depends on each local municipality's bylaw; our Durham Greener Homes loan guide has the full breakdown |
| Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) | Participating Alberta municipalities | Financing repaid through the property tax bill; amounts, rates and terms are set by each municipality | 29 programs as of 2026 per Alberta Municipalities, the program administrator; work must be done by a CEIP Qualified Contractor; check your municipality on the official program locations page |
| Solar City | Halifax Regional Municipality | Fixed rate financing repaid through a charge on the property, commonly cited around 4.75 percent over 10 years as of early 2026 | Open per the municipality's solar program pages; confirm current terms before planning around them |
Sources for this table: City of Toronto, Region of Durham program materials, Alberta Municipalities, Halifax Regional Municipality, all checked August 2026. Program terms change and intake windows open and close, so treat every figure here as a starting point and confirm with the administrator before you sign anything.
If your municipality is not on this list, the general options in the previous section are your realistic menu. British Columbia, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba currently have no equivalent wide open property tax attached solar financing for homeowners, which is an honest gap, not a sales angle.
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How does property tax attached financing actually work?
Think of it as the house borrowing the money instead of you. The municipality or program pays for the upgrade, then adds a repayment line to the property tax bill for a fixed term. Because the debt attaches to the property, two things follow that no bank loan can offer.
First, if you sell, the remaining balance typically transfers to the buyer along with the solar system, so you are not carrying debt on a house you no longer own. Second, qualification leans on the property rather than a conventional credit application, with rules like being current on your property taxes, which is why the City of Toronto's HELP page lists property tax history and owner consent among its conditions rather than a credit score.
The tradeoffs are real too. Your property tax bill rises for the term. Your mortgage lender may need to consent. And a buyer's lawyer will see the charge during a sale, which is fine when disclosed and priced, and friction when it surprises people.
One more Ontario specific note: financing and rebates are separate decisions. Ontario's Home Renovation Savings rebate has its own rules, including that rebate participants are not eligible for a net metering agreement, and our current rebate landscape guide covers those rules so this article can stay focused on how to pay.
What should you watch for with installer financing?
Many installers offer financing through third party lenders, and some of these products are fair. The category still deserves your sharpest reading, because the loan and the quote come from the same conversation. Judge any offer against four criteria.
Ask for the cash price and the financed price separately, because dealer fees are sometimes built into the system price rather than the rate. Ask what the rate becomes after any promotional period ends. Ask whether the loan registers a lien or security interest on your home. And compare the total cost of borrowing over the full term against a HELOC quote from your own bank, which takes one phone call and regularly reframes the decision.
None of this requires assuming bad faith. It requires the same discipline you would apply to a car loan: the monthly payment is the marketing, the total cost is the truth.
How do you choose the right option?
The decision usually resolves in this order. If a property tax attached program covers your address, price it first, because fixed published rates, long terms and transfer on sale are hard to beat. If not, and you have home equity, a HELOC or refinance is usually the cheapest borrowed money available, on approved credit. Unsecured loans buy speed and simplicity at a higher rate. Cash wins on lifetime cost whenever it does not strain your reserves.
And sometimes the right answer is not yet. If your roof needs replacement soon, if heavy shade limits production, or if your usage is very low, financing a system does not fix a weak underlying case. Our payback by province guide shows where the economics are strong and where they are honestly slow, and our cost guide covers what systems actually cost before any financing.
Solar Calculator Canada is an independent Canadian platform that provides free solar and battery estimates and matches homeowners with vetted installers; we do not install, and a licensed contractor performs all work. If you request quotes through the platform, your details may be shared with vetted installers in our network, and the platform may earn from installer matching. How we screen those companies is documented in how we vet installers.
The short version of this whole guide: the era of one national solar loan is over, solar financing in Canada is now decided by your city and your balance sheet, and the homeowners who compare a property attached program, their own bank, and the installer's offer side by side are the ones who borrow well.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions readers ask about this topic
No. Natural Resources Canada closed the loan to new applicants, and October 1, 2025 was the last day to apply. Homeowners who already received approval may continue their projects through the program portal. The earlier Canada Greener Homes Grant is also closed. As of August 2026, no federal loan program accepts new applications for residential solar in Canada.
It is financing repaid through your property tax bill instead of a bank payment, known as Property Assessed Clean Energy or, in Ontario and Nova Scotia, a Local Improvement Charge. The debt attaches to the property, so the balance typically transfers to the buyer if you sell. It exists only in municipalities that run a program, and each program sets its own amounts, rates and terms.
Yes. The City of Toronto's Home Energy Loan Program offers eligible homeowners up to $125,000 at low fixed rates, with terms up to 20 years for projects that include solar, repaid through the property tax bill. Eligibility includes a Toronto address, consent of all owners on title, a clean recent property tax history, and mortgage lender consent where applicable. Confirm current terms with the City before applying.
Alberta has no province wide solar loan, but participating municipalities run the Clean Energy Improvement Program, which finances solar and other upgrades through the property tax bill. Alberta Municipalities administers the program, terms vary by municipality, and eligible work must be completed by a CEIP Qualified Contractor. Check the official CEIP program locations page to see whether your municipality participates.
Often, but not always. A home equity line of credit is usually the cheapest borrowed money available to a homeowner, on approved credit, because it is secured by the home. Installer financing can be competitive, but compare the cash price against the financed price, ask about fees built into the system price, and compare total borrowing cost over the full term before deciding.
Bank products such as HELOCs and personal loans are approved on your credit profile and income, and approval is never automatic. Property tax attached programs work differently: they lean on the property, with conditions like being current on property taxes and obtaining lender consent, rather than a conventional credit application. That structure is why these programs matter for households that would not qualify for the best bank rates.
Editorial note: Program terms, interest rates, and intake windows for every financing option on this page are set by the Government of Canada, provincial administrators, and each participating municipality. Figures on this page are current as of August 2026 and can change on the programs' own schedules. Confirm current terms with each administrator, and your borrowing options with your own bank, before signing anything.
Sources
- Natural Resources Canada, Canada Greener Homes Loan, closed to new applicants.
- City of Toronto, Home Energy Loan Program.
- Alberta Municipalities, Clean Energy Improvement Program residential program locations.
- Halifax Regional Municipality, Solar City supporting programs.