Ontario is Canada's most populous province, and most of its homes burn natural gas. As of October 2026, Statistics Canada reports that in 2023 about 58% of Ontario households used natural gas for primary heat, about 18% electricity and about 4% propane. In a market this crowded, a heating company's biggest gains often come from handling the demand it already has better than its neighbours do.
The Ontario heating market
The Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Hamilton, London and the cities between them are dense, contested markets. Many companies chase the same searches, and a replacement buyer can easily collect several quotes before deciding. Smaller and northern markets behave differently, with longer seasons and more weight on reputation and referrals.
Propane matters in rural Ontario, and so do conversions from older systems to heat pumps. A program usually splits the day-1 baseline by these lines so a strong gas furnace business does not hide a weak heat-pump one.
Season and climate
Southern Ontario's winters are cold but moderated near the Great Lakes, with a clear fall pickup and a busy stretch through January and February. Northern Ontario has longer and colder seasons that start earlier.
Timing for a 90-day heating program:
- Southern Ontario: day 1 between February and May.
- Northern Ontario: day 1 between January and March.
- Companies with large air-conditioning lines: start earlier, because the summer peak competes for the same office time as the fix phase.
Regulators to know
The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) oversees fuels safety in Ontario, including natural gas, propane and fuel oil, and only TSSA-registered fuels contractors using certified gas technicians may do fuels work. Electrical work falls under a separate authority. We link TSSA so that service pages and ads never promise work your registration does not cover. Compliance questions go to TSSA and your licensed staff, not to us.
Programs that affect demand
As of October 2026, the Home Renovation Savings Program run through Save on Energy lists rebates of up to $7,500 for a cold-climate air source heat pump and up to $12,000 for a ground source heat pump, along with smaller rebates for items such as smart thermostats and attic insulation. Confirm current amounts and conditions with the administrator before using them, because they can change.
These rebates shape the replacement conversation in Ontario. When a caller opens with a rebate question, the office needs a clear one-sentence answer and a pointer to the official page. Rebate amounts on service pages also need checking, because a figure that was right last year can quietly become wrong.
A worked Ontario example
Consider a two-location company serving Mississauga and Brampton. Combined, its cost per booked job from paid search is $142, which the owner considers too high. Split by location, one branch books at $98 and the other at $211. The expensive branch shares the same ads but routes calls to a voicemail during lunch and after 4 p.m.
Fixing call routing at the second branch, not cutting the ad budget, is the obvious first item on the fix list. If that branch's cost per booked job fell to $130 on the same spend, the company would book roughly 60% more jobs there for the same money. The figures are illustrative; the habit of splitting by location is the point.
How a program runs for an Ontario company
Ontario programs tend to start with booked-call recovery and replacement quote follow-up, because the cost of replacing a lost lead with a new one is high. The fix list then moves to service-line pages for gas furnaces, boilers, heat pumps and, where relevant, propane, and to the Google Business Profile for each location.
On the monthly retainer, Ontario owners often use the scorecard to watch cost per booked job against competitors' seasonal ad pushes. For Ontario companies that want the marketing itself run as well, our parent brands HVAC.Agency and HVAC.Digital publish the plans.
We are consultants and marketers to heating companies, not contractors. Neighbouring regions: Quebec and Manitoba.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ontario market too competitive for a 90-day program to show results?
Competition raises the cost of buying new demand, which makes recovering existing demand more valuable. In crowded markets the first gains usually come from answer rate, booking rate and quote follow-up, not from outbidding rivals.
How should we time a program in Northern Ontario?
Earlier than in the south. Longer, colder seasons up north mean a day 1 in January to March is safer than a late-spring start.
Do you advise on TSSA registration or gas technician certificates?
No. Those are regulatory matters for TSSA and your licensed staff. We only make sure your marketing never claims work your registration does not cover.
Sources
- Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) (2026-10-23)
- Save on Energy: Home Renovation Savings Program (2026-10-23)
- Statistics Canada Table 38-10-0286-01 (2026-10-23)