HVAC.Report works with heating and cooling companies across all of Canada. The country is not one HVAC market. It is at least five, divided by fuel, climate, programs and competition, and the right marketing in one can be wrong in the next. This hub summarises the regional picture from public data, and each region page goes into detail. Contractor counts below are Statistics Canada's June 2026 figures for plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor locations with employees (Table 33-10-1174-01); fuel shares are from Statistics Canada's survey for reference year 2023 (Table 38-10-0286-01).
- YTYukon
- NTNorthwest Territories
- NUNunavut
- NLNewfoundland and Labrador
- BCBritish Columbia
- ABAlberta
- SKSaskatchewan
- MBManitoba
- ONOntario
- QCQuebec
- PEPrince Edward Island
- NBNew Brunswick
- NSNova Scotia
West Coast: British Columbia
The answer first: a split province, with mild coastal winters and much colder interior and northern ones.
British Columbia had 2,933 contractor locations with employees, and 60.3% of them had one to four staff, our calculation from the June 2026 counts. Natural gas was the primary heating energy for 42% of households and electricity for 36% in 2023. Cooling is the gap: Statistics Canada found BC had the lowest air conditioning share of any province in 2025. Read British Columbia.
Prairies: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Long, cold winters and a gas-heated housing stock make the Prairies a furnace and boiler market first.
- Alberta: 2,097 contractor locations; 76% of households heated mainly with natural gas. See Alberta.
- Saskatchewan: 512 locations; 75% natural gas. See Saskatchewan.
- Manitoba: 516 locations; 52% natural gas and 33% electricity, so heat pump and electric-heat messages matter more here. See Manitoba.
Central Canada: Ontario and Quebec
The two largest markets behave very differently.
Ontario had 6,525 contractor locations with employees and 6,401 without, the most crowded field in the country. Natural gas heated 58% of households in 2023. Quebec had 2,983 locations with employees, and 70% of its households relied on electricity for primary heating. See Ontario and Quebec.
Atlantic Canada
The Atlantic provinces have the country's strongest heat pump adoption and a long history of oil heat.
Heat pumps were the primary heating system for 27% of New Brunswick households, 25% in Nova Scotia and 36% in Prince Edward Island in 2023, while oil still heated 28% of homes in Nova Scotia and 28% on the Island. Newfoundland and Labrador relies on electricity for 64% of households. See New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The North: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
The territories are small, remote markets with very long heating seasons.
Statistics Canada counted 28 contractor locations with employees in Yukon, 25 in the Northwest Territories and 7 in Nunavut. The survey that provides provincial fuel shares does not cover the territories. See the territories page.
National programs to know, as of October 2026
The federal government announced a national heat pump rebate on October 8, 2026: $2 billion over eight years, with up to $10,000 for households below median income and $2,000 for other eligible homeowners, for eligible cold-climate air-source heat pumps (Government of Canada). As of October 2026 it had not opened. The Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program delivers no-cost retrofits through provincial partners where agreements exist (NRCan). Program details change; confirm with the administrator before advertising.
How to read a region page
Every region page follows the same order, so you can compare provinces quickly. It opens with the contractor counts and our calculation of the small-firm share, moves to heating fuel and, where published, cooling ownership, then covers climate, the regulators to know, current programs dated as of October 2026, and finally our approach. Data and analysis are always separated: a sentence under an "Our analysis" label is our reading, not the source's. If a figure is missing for a region, as with heating fuel in the territories, it is because no published source we loaded covers it, and we say so rather than estimate.
How we use this data
Each region page ends with how we would approach marketing there. The common thread is that we start from the benchmark, not from a template. HVAC.Report is a marketing service for HVAC companies; we are not a contractor. Call, text or email to talk about your region.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work in every province and territory?
Yes. We are headquartered in Vancouver and work with HVAC companies in all 10 provinces and the three territories, meeting by video call or in person.
Why does the province matter for HVAC marketing?
Fuel mix, climate, programs and competition all change across provinces. A gas-furnace replacement message that suits Alberta would miss most homes in Quebec, where electricity dominates heating.
Where does the regional data come from?
Contractor counts come from Statistics Canada's June 2026 business counts, heating-fuel shares from Statistics Canada's Households and the Environment Survey for 2023, and programs from official program pages, each dated.
Is there a national heat pump rebate I can promote?
The federal government announced one on October 8, 2026, with up to $10,000 for households below median income and $2,000 for other eligible homeowners. As of October 2026 it had not opened, so confirm details before advertising it.