Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow held a news conference on Thursday to highlight all the ways that she says the 2026 budget will make life more affordable for homeowners in the city.
“The budget is single focused on saving folks some money and make life affordable,” she told reporters inside a Toronto home on Thursday morning.
“At the end of the day we want to help you build a home that is more affordable caring and safe and that is the core of the budget.
She said the new measures will offer direct support for homeowners and help them save more than $9,000 through the city’s home upgrade programs.
“We’ve added funding to protect against basement flooding, replace old furnaces, and provide expert guidance,” she said.
“From school food programs and frozen TTC fares to help upgrading and protecting your home—we’re making Toronto more affordable. The 2026 budget continues delivering a more affordable, safe and caring city.”
Here a list of some of the program’s the city has proposed to help homeowners save money, according to Chow:
Basement flooding protection grants
- Basement flooding protection grants will provide up to $6,650 to a homeowner to protect their home from water damage. The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program covers backwater valves, sump pumps and backup batteries. The city said it would subsidize around 3,000 rain barrels and 1,000 downspouts diverters to save homeowners an additional $100 to $200.
Help replacing furnaces with heat pumps
- The new Furnace Upgrade Program offers low-case financing to switch to energy-efficient heat pumps that heat in the winter and cool in the summer. The program would connect homeowners with contractors and includes a $2,000 rebate secured through a provincial partnership.
Access expert advice
- Chow says the city will also provide homeowners with expert advice and access to subsidized or free home plumbing assessment, energy coaching through Toronto Hydro and other programs to help lower utility bills.
Low-cost home upgrades
- Through the city’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP), homeowners can access low-cost financing of up to $125,000 to improve their homes, such as replacing windows, doors or water heaters to increase energy efficiency. It could also help with adding new green infrastructure like electric vehicle chargers or rooftop solar panels. The new upgrades could help homeowners save money on utilities and raise the value of their home, the city said.
Toronto Councillor Brad Bradford, who is running for mayor, held a news conference shortly after Chow’s Thursday morning announcement, saying that many people in Toronto don’t have the current upfront capital to pay for energy-efficient home upgrades.
“There’s benefit for the people who are going to be able to take advantage of the program, but there is a lot of folks that don’t have upfront money to come up with the capital to install ground source heat pump or put up electric solar panels on their roof right now,” he said.
“That’s a pretty privileged position for people who are able to do that and let’s keep in mind all of these programs still require homeowners to come up with the money upfront and then chase the city for months to get that money back.”
“There are a lot of people in Toronto that are not in a position right now and they are just struggling to make ends meet. The City of Toronto is not becoming for affordable, its becoming more expensive.”
