Publishing honest from prices for boiler work in Canada

What the rules say, in plain terms

The Competition Act prohibits false or misleading representations to the public. Two pieces of Competition Bureau guidance matter most for boiler pricing:

• Drip pricing. The Bureau's drip pricing page, last modified in August 2026, describes advertising a price that cannot be obtained because mandatory fees are added later. Fixed charges imposed by government on buyers, such as sales tax, are the stated exception.
• General impression. The Bureau's guidance on misleading representations looks at the overall impression an ad creates, not only its literal words. A tiny asterisk does not cure a misleading headline.

There is a third area worth knowing if you talk about efficiency or emissions: the Bureau's page on environmental claims. As of October 2026, the Bureau says it will update that guidance following 2026 amendments, while the general rules against misleading claims still apply.

The three ways boiler prices go wrong

Most problems we see fall into three patterns.

1. The phantom price. "Boiler replacements from $5,999" when nobody has paid under $8,500 in two years. The number exists only to make the phone ring.
2. The dripped fee. A fair-looking package price, then a "system fee", "disposal fee" or "admin fee" that appears on every quote but on no advert.
3. The rebate-first price. "$4,999 after rebates", when eligibility varies, programs change and the customer must pay the full amount first.

Each one gets the call, then loses the trust. Even when nobody complains to a regulator, customers who feel misled leave reviews.

Step 1: Describe the job the price buys

A from price needs a described job, or it means nothing. Write one or two sentences for each package, such as: a like-for-like condensing boiler replacement in an accessible mechanical room, with existing venting and piping in serviceable condition, including removal and disposal of the old unit and commissioning.

That sentence tells the customer what the starting job looks like and what moves the price up. It also gives your quote writer the language to explain differences.

Step 2: Set the price from real invoices

Take the last 20 to 40 jobs sold as that package. Use final invoice totals before tax. Sort them from lowest to highest.

Illustrative example for one package:

A defensible from price sits near the lower end of what customers genuinely pay, here around $8,900, not at the single cheapest outlier. Then sanity-check it: would you happily do the described job for that amount next week? If not, the price is not real.

Step 3: Put every mandatory charge inside it

List every charge that appears on most quotes for the package. Sort them into two groups:

• Always charged: disposal of the old boiler, standard commissioning, a standard permit where your jurisdiction always requires one, a fixed admin or system fee. These go inside the advertised price.
• Job-specific: extra zones, chimney liner, indirect tank, electrical work by a licensed electrician. These can be listed as priced add-ons, with typical ranges if you can.

If a fee appears on nearly every job, ask why it exists separately at all. Folding it into the package price is simpler and easier to defend.

Step 4: Word it plainly

Good wording is short and specific:

Standard replacement: from $8,900 plus tax. Like-for-like condensing boiler, existing venting in good condition, removal and disposal, commissioning. Final price confirmed after a home visit.

Avoid "starting at" with no description, "as low as", and headline prices in large type with conditions in small grey text. Keep the conditions next to the price, in the same size.

Step 5: Present rebates separately

Rebates change often. Our region pages show how many provincial and federal programs opened, changed or closed during 2025 and 2026. So:

• show the full price first;
• name the program, link to the administrator's page and give the date you last checked it;
• say clearly that eligibility is set by the program, not by you;
• never advertise an after-rebate figure as the price.

Step 6: Make ads, pages and quotes match

The most common way honest companies end up looking dishonest is drift. An ad from last spring still runs, a landing page was updated but the Google Business Profile post was not, or the quote template uses different package names.

Run a simple check every quarter:

1. List every place a price appears: website, ads, social posts, Business Profile, printed leave-behinds.
2. Confirm each matches the current pricing page.
3. Confirm the quote template uses the same package names and inclusions.
4. Remove anything expired.

Step 7: Show the date

Add "Prices last reviewed: [month, year]" to your pricing page. It tells customers the number is current, reminds your team to review it, and gives you a record if anyone asks later what was advertised when.

A note on how we price

We hold ourselves to the same standard. Our pricing page lists the monthly hosting fee next to each website package price instead of in a footnote, and states plainly that GST/HST is added by province (GST and QST in Quebec). Doing it on our own page is the easiest way to show it works.

What to do next

If your prices are not set yet, build the packages first using the good-better-best menu guide. If you want help auditing your current ads, pages and quotes, see the pricing presentation service, or call, text or email.