Renovation Contractor Marketing in Canada: HomeStars, Holdbacks and Suite Demand
How Canadian renovation firms win project work: the HomeStars Star Score, a quote page that answers permits and the 10 per cent holdback, secondary suite demand and the provincial rules on licence numbers.
Most renovation jobs in Canada still start with a name passed over a fence or texted by a realtor. What happens next has changed. Houzz research reports that most homeowners who get a word of mouth referral still research the contractor online first, so your Business Profile, reviews and website are the validation step in almost every sale, referrals included.
This guide covers project work: kitchens, baths, basements, additions and suites, where a homeowner gathers three quotes over weeks and signs a five figure contract. Single trade repair demand behaves differently, so the shared fundamentals sit in our home services marketing pillar, and if most of your revenue is re roofs the roofing guide fits better.
Without a referral, Google Search and Maps are the discovery channel and reviews decide who gets the call. BrightLocal's consumer review surveys, run on a US panel because no comparable Canadian study is published, find willingness to use a business roughly doubles when it replies to every review.
HomeStars Reno Report surveys consistently find roughly three quarters of Canadian homeowners planning a renovation in the year ahead, bathrooms and kitchens most often, with typical budgets in the low tens of thousands and only a small minority above $50,000. Statistics Canada data reported by Wood Industry showed renovation investment up sharply in the second quarter of 2026, Ontario spending exceeding new construction while Alberta's fell by close to half.
The Canadian trust stack: HomeStars, Houzz and RenoMark
Angi and Thumbtack, the US defaults, are not where Canadian homeowners look. HomeStars is: the largest home services review marketplace in Canada, now part of Angi, with a Star Score out of 10 that rewards review volume, rating, recency and response rate, so an unanswered review costs you twice. Houzz portfolios matter for design led buyers, and the photos must be your own. Add TrustedPros, Baeumler Approved, the Better Business Bureau and, if you qualify, RenoMark, the Canadian Home Builders' Association programme signalling written contracts and warranty coverage.
Ask for the review on the day of the final walkthrough, while the homeowner stands in the finished room, then reply within a day or two everywhere; our Canadian reviews guide has the scripts.
Kitchen Remodeler beats General Contractor on your Business Profile
For a contractor working from a truck or a home office, the profile is a service area business: hide the street address, list your service areas, and pick the most specific primary category available, such as Kitchen Remodeler or Bathroom Remodeler, rather than General Contractor. Profiles named "Best Toronto Kitchen Renovations" get suspended under Google's business name rules, and a suspension in May is a lost season. Post job site photos weekly, framed as before and after: forty recent ones read as a working firm, not a lead broker.
A quote page that answers permits, deposits and the 10 per cent holdback
Homeowners collect about three quotes and look for reasons to cut one, so put licence numbers, insurance limits, WSIB or WCB clearance, the municipalities you serve and a phone number answered during the day on the first screen.
Build a page for each project type, meaning kitchens, bathrooms, basements, additions, secondary suites and condo renovations, and one per city. Each should settle what decides a five figure contract: deposit size, fixed price or estimate, who pulls the permit and who carries the cost if the committee of adjustment takes three months, what happens when asbestos or knob and tube wiring appears behind a wall, how change orders are priced, and how the 10 per cent construction lien holdback works. (Government of Ontario e-Laws)
Searches that price a job: kitchen, basement and suite terms
The commercial queries are consistent across Canadian metros: general contractor near me, home renovation contractors Toronto, kitchen renovation Calgary, basement finishing contractors Ottawa, basement apartment contractor, and in Quebec entrepreneur en renovation Montreal. Cost pages convert better than contractors expect, so a candid page on what a kitchen renovation costs in your province earns links and inquiries. Take citations from Canadian directories rather than US ones, and keep the provincial licence listing consistent with Google; our local SEO service handles that work.
Paid search after Google retired the Guaranteed badge
No Canadian benchmark for this category has been published, so the figures below come from US agency data converted to Canadian dollars. Treat them as direction, not a quote.
| Channel | Reported range (CAD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search Ads, per click | About $7 to $20 | US contractor data; roofing runs higher |
| Search Ads, per lead | About $120 to $220 kitchen and bath | $350 plus for design build |
| Local Services Ads, per lead | Tens to low hundreds | Agency estimates, not benchmarks |
| SEO retainer | $1,000 to $2,500 single city | $2,500 to $5,000 plus in the GTA |
| Digital budget, $1M to $5M firm | About $3,000 to $15,000 monthly | Roughly 5 to 12 per cent of revenue |
Local Services Ads need a correction. Google retired the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified badges on 20 October 2025, replaced them with one Google Verified badge and dropped the money back guarantee, so an agency still selling a Google backed job guarantee is quoting a programme that no longer exists. Verification still requires licensing, insurance and owner background checks. The Canadian category list is narrower than the US one and weighted toward single trades, so general contracting may not be offered in your market. Meta is for retargeting with before and after Reels, not cold pitches. Our Google Ads management team sets that split.
Secondary suites, the MHRTC and the programmes you must not advertise
Two of the strongest renovation searches in Canada now are basement apartment and garden suite, and that demand is policy driven rather than seasonal. The federal Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit is a refundable credit worth 15 per cent of up to $50,000 in qualifying costs, to a maximum of $7,500, for a renovation creating a self contained secondary unit so a relative who is 65 or older, or who qualifies for the disability tax credit, can move in. (Canada Revenue Agency) Since January 2025 CMHC has also insured refinancing of up to 90 per cent of a home's as improved value, the value projected once the suite is finished, on owner occupied properties of up to four units, with financing approved before construction starts and short term rentals excluded. (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC)
Be careful which programmes you name, because announced money is not live money. The Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program, the $80,000 federal loan announced in Budget 2024, was confirmed in Budget 2025 as never implemented, and British Columbia's Secondary Suite Incentive Program closed to new applications on 30 March 2025. (BC Housing) Write one suite financing page, name only live programmes and their jurisdiction, send the homeowner to the CRA or their lender to confirm eligibility, and date it.
Advertising and professional conduct rules for Canadian renovation contractors
This section is general information and not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with your provincial regulator or a lawyer before publishing a promotion.
- Ontario. The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 still governs; the Consumer Protection Act, 2023 received royal assent in December 2023 but has not been proclaimed in force. (Government of Ontario) A contract worth $50 or more signed in the consumer's home carries a 10 calendar day cooling off period with deposits refunded within 15 days, and an estimate forming part of the contract cannot be exceeded by more than 10 per cent without the homeowner's agreement. (Government of Ontario) (Government of Ontario) Sellers of new homes need a Home Construction Regulatory Authority licence on the website and Tarion enrolment for each home.
- Quebec. Under the Building Act, a contractor licensed by the Regie du batiment du Quebec must show the 10 digit licence number on advertising, vehicles, the website and social profiles, formatted "RBQ licence: XXXX-XXXX-XX", and builders of new residential buildings need accreditation from Garantie de construction residentielle. The Charter of the French Language as amended by Bill 96 governs the marketing: sites and advertising aimed at Quebec must be available in French on terms at least as favourable as any other language, and since June 2025 exterior signage with a non French trademark must show markedly predominant French. Our Bill 96 bilingual marketing guide covers the website work.
- British Columbia and Alberta. Under BC's Homeowner Protection Act, new homes must be built by a licensed residential builder registered with BC Housing and carry third party warranty insurance, commonly called 2-5-10 coverage, and substantial reconstructions can be caught by it. In Alberta, taking a deposit before the work is finished requires a Prepaid Contracting Business Licence, and advertising for deposits without one is an offence.
- Federal. The Competition Act prohibits misleading representations, drip pricing and fake or undisclosed reviews, and since June 2025 private parties can bring deceptive marketing cases directly; staff and family must disclose the connection when they post a review. Commercial email and texts need consent, sender identification and a working unsubscribe, and our CASL guide sets out the consent windows and records.
The spring thaw, the construction holiday and the September basement wave
Search volume climbs from late February as homeowners plan around tax refunds, peaks from late April through June for exterior, deck and addition work, then brings a smaller September wave for basements finished before the holidays. November through February is the trough, when clicks are cheapest and spring booking offers keep crews on interior work.
Metro Vancouver's mild, wet winters support interior work year round, while the Prairies and Atlantic Canada compress exterior work into roughly May to September. Quebec effectively stops for the two week construction holiday in late July, which belongs in your ad scheduling and in the start dates you promise. Statistics Canada's Residential Renovation Price Index shows cost pressure highest in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Quebec, worth knowing before you publish national price ranges.
A 90 day plan built backwards from March, measured on signed contracts
Track cost per signed contract by channel, not clicks, and tag leads by project type so a $12,000 bathroom is never averaged with a $180,000 addition. Record response time too.
- Days 1 to 30. Fix the Business Profile category, service areas and photos, complete the HomeStars, Houzz and Better Business Bureau profiles, answer every outstanding review, check Local Services Ads eligibility, and put licence numbers, insurance limits and WSIB or WCB proof on the website.
- Days 31 to 60. Publish pages for your top five project types and top three cities, one honest cost guide and the suite financing page, then launch Search Ads with the construction holiday and your booked out weeks excluded.
- Days 61 to 90. Turn on retargeting with before and after creative, answer the permit, deposit, holdback and change order questions, then move budget to the channels producing signed contracts.
Where Better Businesses fits
Better Businesses is a Toronto digital growth agency working with renovation firms nationwide, from GTA design build shops to Calgary basement specialists and Montreal renovators who need French first campaigns and an RBQ number on every asset. We run lead generation, local SEO, Google Ads, website development and branding under one plan, measured on cost per signed contract. For a second opinion before the spring rush, get in touch.
Sources
- Multigenerational home renovation tax credit (MHRTC) : Personal income tax — Canada Revenue Agency
- CMHC Refinance for Building Secondary Suites |CMHC — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
- Secondary Suite Incentive Program | BC Housing — BC Housing
- Consumer protection laws in Ontario — Government of Ontario
- Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs — Government of Ontario
- Your rights when signing or cancelling a contract — Government of Ontario
- Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 — Government of Ontario (e-Laws)
Sources checked September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
- What should it cost in marketing to sign one renovation contract?
- Work back from job size rather than a flat percentage of revenue. The usable benchmarks are North American: roughly 5 to 15 per cent of revenue for home services, 6 to 12 per cent for established firms, and 3 to 5 per cent for referral heavy design build shops. A firm between $1 million and $5 million in revenue often runs $3,000 to $15,000 a month, so judge every channel on cost per signed contract by project type.
- Is a paid HomeStars profile worth it for Canadian contractors?
- For most renovators, yes, because homeowners check HomeStars alongside Google and the Star Score is visible in search results. Published pricing is scarce and quote based, so ask for current plan costs rather than trusting a figure you read online. The return depends on answering every review quickly, since response rate and recency both feed the score. Treat it as a review platform first.
- Can I advertise that a renovation qualifies for the GST/HST rebate?
- Only if it genuinely does. The federal first time home buyers' GST rebate applies to new or substantially renovated homes, meaning 90 per cent or more of the interior is removed or replaced. Advertising HST rebate or HST included on an ordinary kitchen or basement job risks being treated as a misleading representation under the Competition Act. Explain eligibility accurately and let the homeowner confirm with the CRA.
- Should we build a page around secondary suite and multigenerational renovations?
- Yes, if you actually build them. The federal Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit refunds 15 per cent of up to $50,000 in qualifying costs, to a maximum of $7,500, for a self contained unit that lets a senior or a disability tax credit eligible relative move in. Name only programmes that still exist and send homeowners to the CRA to confirm eligibility.
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