In September 2025, Re.Climate, in collaboration with Clean Energy Canada (CEC), held a webinar showcasing the findings in CEC’s latest report: Empowering Households. Rachel Doran, CEC’s Executive Director and Director of Communications Trevor Melanson shared who the next clean tech adopters are, what they care about, and the biggest barriers they face when considering buying clean technologies like solar panels, heat pumps, and EVs. They were joined by Drew Tozer of Foundry Heat Pumps and Cara Clairman, president and CEO of Plug ‘N Drive, who provided insights from their experiences talking with the heat pump- and EV-curious.
Watch the Recording
Resources
How to Talk to Canada’s Next Clean Technology Adopters
Webinar Recording
Report: Empowering Households
Presentation
The combined use of furnaces, gas-powered cars and gas water heaters means that Canadian households account for at least 17 per cent of fossil fuel emissions in Canada. But according to CEC’s report, which looks at data from a 3,000-person survey conducted in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and Metro Vancouver, there is a lot of willingness to switch to clean technology. Overall, 59 per cent of respondents are inclined to buy an EV for their next car and 56 per cent view heat pumps positively.
With the survey data, CEC was able to identify five distinct segments of potential clean technology adopters: Net Zero Moms and Dads, Generation Green, Retired Homeowners, Practical Families, and Frugal Skeptics. By developing these segments, CEC was able to really hone in on why those inclined to adopt clean tech weren’t necessarily doing so.
No surprise, affordability was the number one barrier across all the segments, even for those most motivated to adopt clean technology for their homes.
Talking affordability and other barriers
The cost of clean technology is a persistent barrier for people. But when Re.Climate’s senior advisor Dr. Louise Comeau looked into whether framing climate solutions as affordable was a good communication strategy, she found there were important nuances in the data.
Dr. Comeau identified other factors at play beyond pure cost that make people hesitate before going the clean tech route. First, there is a lack of confidence in how the technology works; secondly, people don’t connect these consumer choices to reducing emissions and therefore acting on climate change; and lastly Louise found increasing concerns about the reliability of heat pumps or EVs in cold climates.
Clean Energy Canada found this too. Affordability is one barrier among many, though respondents did identify it as the most important. Others stood out as well. Knowledge about heat pumps was relatively low, for example, meaning fewer people were inclined to purchase one. While young people responded positively about making clean technology purchases, many lived in apartments or townhomes where they had no choice about their heating systems and no access to EV charging infrastructure.
What can communicators do?
Using the CEC segmentation, communicators will have a better understanding of who they’re talking to and what stands in their way.
Since upfront cost is a barrier for every segment, emphasize the incentives, loans or rebates available in your area and offer clear, step-by-step instructions for how to access them.
Re.Climate’s research also demonstrated that it’s important to go beyond pure cost. Tell stories that address the most common concerns—heat pumps in winter, EV range—and, depending on the audience you’re speaking to, inform them about the basics of each technology.
There’s also the simple fact that many people are not informed about the basics of clean technology.
“We found that half of Canadians were aware of key facts around heat pumps,” said Doran.
“So increasing exposure to these key facts changed people’s intentions.”
We also know from our Five Canadas research that people trust their friends and family to provide them with information—and this is especially true when it comes to big purchases or renovations.
“People are interested in what their friends do,” Clairman pointed out. “If you look at a map of where the EVs are, you’ll also see that they do cluster in neighbourhoods, which is partly the neighbour effect. They see someone they know buy one, they feel more comfortable doing it themselves.”
“We found that 73 per cent of people were likely to get an EV if they knew someone who had an EV, versus 59 per cent of the total survey respondents. And we saw no difference in their political alignment,” said Melanson. “Experiencing things firsthand really matters.”
Highlight sources of local advice, work with community leaders who can be a trusted voice on clean technology’s benefits, and consider demo days and other awareness-raising events so people can try things out and talk to local adopters.
Lastly, remember that regardless of common barriers, it’s important to understand who you’re talking to when advocating for clean technology adoption.
“I think it’s understanding and thinking about—whether it’s an individual, homeowner or a contractor—what are their values?” said Tozer.
What can policymakers do?
There is strong support for consumer incentives. Seventy-six per cent of respondents support things like rebates, zero-interest loans for home upgrades and investments in public charging stations. Keep in mind though, that the incentive only works if it’s easy to access.
Take the federal Greener Homes Grant. CEC found that because of the upfront costs that applicants had to incur, low-income Canadians were inadvertently excluded from the grant process. It didn’t help either that at one point, it took up to five months to receive a rebate after purchasing a heat pump, solar panels or insulation.
Constant policy shifts and uncertainty can also hinder adoption.
“The federal government ran out of money in their EV rebate program, and have not re-upped it, but have signaled more incentives are coming,” said Doran. “Meanwhile, B.C. has paused their rebates. Quebec paused their rebates and then brought them back again, and it’s creating this real distortion in the market where, of course, if you’re thinking about an EV and someone’s telling you maybe you’ll get some money off later, you might wait to purchase.”
In Re.Climate’s affordability playbook, Dr. Comeau also found that Canadians are deeply concerned about the fairness of policies that incentivize or encourage the transition to clean technology.
Therefore, ensuring that incentives are accessible to low-income households, new Canadians or seniors can actually help with the messaging that clean technology is for everyone, not just the wealthy, and that clean technology makes sense for all kinds of households.
After all, CEC’s segmentation tells us, there are lots of people interested in adopting clean technology in Canada.
“I’m especially interested in younger people because they’re so keen on going electric, but I know that housing is a really big barrier for them doing so,” said Melanson. “And that doesn’t just take communications, it also takes policy solutions. So these things do need to go hand in hand.”
“So I guess that’s my key message,” he added. “Let’s really focus on empowering the people who want to do this and just need a couple tweaks to make it happen.”
Resources from the chat
- Find your EV match from Plug ‘N Drive
- Zero Homes
- Making the Grade report card on provincial actions on the energy transition Clean Energy Canada
- Electric Vehicle incentives Plug ‘N Drive
- Feel Good Homes by Drew Tozer
- Heat Pumps, Explained (And Why Everyone’s Switching) video by Drew Tozer
- Toronto Home Energy Network
- Canada’s best kept EV secret: The Capital Cost Allowance for zero-emission vehicles Electric Mobility Canada
