I settle into the living room of Sarah Greenberg’s East Vancouver bungalow, where the November rain taps against the windows and a space heater hums in the corner. The house is noticeably cool despite the heater’s efforts.
“We discovered it by accident,” Sarah tells me, pulling her cardigan tighter around her shoulders. “Our carbon monoxide detector went off in the middle of the night last month. If we hadn’t installed that detector last year…” She trails off, glancing toward the basement door where her condemned gas boiler sits silent.
Sarah’s family is among thousands across Canada scrambling after Health Canada reissued an expanded recall of residential gas boilers manufactured by ThermoTech Industries. The announcement came yesterday with troubling timing—the company simultaneously declared it would cease all North American operations by January 2026, leaving homeowners and contractors in limbo as winter approaches.
The recall covers approximately 34,500 units installed between 2018 and 2025, nearly triple the number identified in the original recall from February. According to Health Canada documents, the affected models contain a faulty heat exchanger that can develop microscopic cracks over time, potentially releasing deadly carbon monoxide into homes.
“This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a potential tragedy waiting to happen,” explains Dr. Natalie Wong, an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital who has treated carbon monoxide poisoning cases. “Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and the symptoms of poisoning—headaches, dizziness, nausea—are easily confused with the flu or other common illnesses.”
What makes this recall particularly challenging is ThermoTech’s imminent departure from the market. The company cited “insurmountable liability concerns and changing North American efficiency regulations” in its statement yesterday. While ThermoTech has promised to honor warranty replacements until their closure, the timeline creates a significant gap between demand and available technicians.
For Indigenous communities in northern British Columbia, the situation is especially dire. In Hazelton, where winter temperatures regularly drop below -20°C, the Northern Health Authority estimates that one in five homes uses an affected boiler.
“We’re facing a perfect storm,” says Gitxsan community advocate Michael Wilson. “Many of our community members already deal with housing insecurity and energy poverty. Now, they’re told their heating systems might be poisoning them, but replacement options are limited and contractors have months-long waiting lists.”
I visited Wilson’s community last week, where he showed me a spreadsheet tracking homes with recalled boilers. Next to each address were notes about vulnerability factors: elders living alone, families with young children, homes with inadequate insulation.
“We’re prioritizing as best we can,” Wilson says, “but these are impossible choices when every home needs heat.”
The recall highlights broader infrastructure vulnerabilities across Canada’s housing stock. According to a 2024 report from the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, approximately 18% of Canadian homes have heating systems over 20 years old, with lower-income households most likely to rely on aging infrastructure.
Provincial responses to the crisis vary dramatically. British Columbia announced yesterday an emergency $15 million fund to expedite replacements for vulnerable households, while Ontario has thus far only issued public service announcements urging homeowners to check their boiler models.
“The inconsistency across provinces creates confusion and inequity,” notes energy policy analyst Priya Sharma. “Some homeowners are getting immediate assistance while others face bureaucratic hurdles and uncertainty about whether they’ll receive any support at all.”
For those affected, the path forward isn’t clear. ThermoTech has established a recall hotline, but wait times exceed three hours, according to consumer reports. Alternative heating system installation typically costs between $8,000 and $15,000, an impossible sum for many Canadian households already squeezed by inflation and high housing costs.
Back in Sarah’s living room, she shows me a folder thick with paperwork—quotes from contractors, emails to ThermoTech’s customer service, applications for emergency assistance.
“We’re fortunate we have a credit line to cover the replacement,” Sarah says. “But I keep thinking about families who don’t have that option. Do they just live with the risk? Turn to space heaters and risk fire instead?”
Her concerns aren’t unfounded. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs reported last month that residential fires increase approximately 30% during winter months, with heating equipment malfunctions and improper use of space heaters among the leading causes.
As I prepare to leave, Sarah mentions something unexpected: “This whole experience made us decide to switch to an electric heat pump system instead of replacing with another gas boiler. It costs more upfront, but after what we’ve been through, the peace of mind feels worth it.”
Her comment reflects a trend noted by Energy Efficiency Canada, which reported a 43% increase in heat pump installations over the past year as homeowners reconsider fossil fuel dependency amid safety concerns and climate awareness.
For now, though, the immediate crisis demands attention. Health Canada urges all homeowners with gas boilers to verify their model numbers against the recall list available on their website, and to install carbon monoxide detectors on every floor.
As winter deepens across the country, the race to address these dangerous heating systems continues—a sobering reminder of how our most basic needs for warmth and safety sometimes hang in a precarious balance.
