Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) in 2026: closed intake, open pathways, and provincial stacks

Oil heat is still a real Canadian bill — Atlantic bungalows, rural Ontario tanks, older Québec houses — and the internet still hands people a federal form that stopped taking new names on 31 July 2026. The Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program helped low- to median-income households leave oil for an eligible electric heat pump. The intake is closed. Some files, and some provincial cousins, are not.

This is a wind-down map, not a new application. If you already have an OHPA file, treat the January 2027 document clock as real. If you do not, shop live provincial stacks and the machine itself in heat pump vs furnace.

Who OHPA was for: oil-heated homes on integrated grids

NRCan’s program page (used 20 Sep 2026) still describes the offer for the remaining files. You needed to be a Canadian homeowner, heat the home with oil, sit at or below the median household after-tax income, and meet the technical list. A home energy evaluation was not always required — unlike Greener Homes Grant folklore.

The cheque (up to $10,000 in federal direct delivery) could cover the eligible heat pump plus related work: electrical and mechanical upgrades, safe oil-tank removal, supplemental electric heat if required, switching other oil loads such as water heating, and ground-loop piping for a geothermal system. OHPA did not require tank removal; your province might. The cost was an eligible expense if you did it.

Federal intake closed 31 July 2026 — document deadlines for applicants

The banner on 20 September 2026: application intake period is closed. 31 July 2026 was the last apply day. Files submitted before that deadline continue. Then:

1. Finish and pay for the work.
2. Log into the Canada Greener Homes portal on or before 31 January 2027.
3. Upload final receipts and the mandatory contractor attestation.
4. Expect a possible verification visit.

NRCan’s “how the process works” page has also listed 31 March 2027 as program close. Do not leave invoices in a kitchen drawer until February. The program is transitioning to Environment and Climate Change Canada; use enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca or 1-800-668-6767 (weekdays 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET on the page we used), not a contractor’s “we’ll handle Ottawa.”

Provincial co-delivery differences

The federal page you land on depends on province. NRCan says the national write-up is for applicants in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Québec, and Saskatchewan. Everyone else is told to use the participating-province page because details differ.

Stacking with remaining provincial rebates (verify live offers)

Federal text said OHPA funding can be combined with other federal, provincial, territorial, and utility help. Co-delivery often means you never see two cheques — you see one program that already includes Ottawa’s dollars. Stacking rules are how people get denied after the outdoor unit is on the pad.

• Ask, in writing, which program IDs can sit on the same invoice.
• Do not let a quote “assume” a dead federal $10,000.
• Income-qualified free-install streams (Ontario EAP, some Atlantic HomeWarming-style paths) are a different door from a universal rebate.

Remote / Nunavut and off-grid ineligibility

NRCan is blunt: the home must be on an integrated electricity grid. Because of that, homeowners in Nunavut, remote areas of Québec, and other remote parts of Canada were ineligible. If you are unsure, email enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca — do not take a sales flyer’s word. Off-grid diesel communities need a different conversation (utility or territorial programs, not a copy-paste OHPA form).

If you missed intake: alternate efficiency and financing directories

Start at NRCan’s home energy-efficiency landing page and your province’s efficiency brand. Then:

1. Income-qualify? Ask about free-install or direct-install streams (EAP, Home Winterproofing, HomeWarming-style programs).
2. Still heating with oil and able to pay? Price a cold-climate heat pump against the oil bill using useful-heat math. Ignore closed federal lines.
3. Municipal property-assessed financing (Alberta CEIP and similar) is a loan against the property tax bill — not a grant. Read the rate and the transfer rules if you sell.
4. Air-seal and attic first if the house is a barn. A heat pump in a sieve is how people buy space heaters. See DIY air sealing.

High-pressure “ENERGY STAR / NRCan approved” door pitches are a known scam pattern. The Government of Canada does not cold-call to inspect your furnace.