CLEAResult Canada is looking to expand its presence in Quebec’s growing energy efficiency market following its acquisition of Groupe Marketing International Inc. (GMI), a customer care and operations firm with experience supporting Hydro-Québec programs.

Based in Toronto, CLEAResult Canada helps utilities and government agencies design and deliver energy efficiency programs for their customers. Its subsidiary, CLEAResult Québec, acquired GMI in September.

“Quebec is an interesting market. You need to be bilingual, there’s additional logistical challenges there or operational challenges that they’ve been able to overcome,” Ehsan Dibaji, president of CLEAResult Canada, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

After partnering with GMI for over a year, the collaboration “blossomed” into an acquisition, he said.

Founded in 1988 as Willis Energy Services, CLEAResult Canada operates in 10 provinces and two territories, having most recently entered the Quebec and Prince Edward Island markets, Dibaji said. The then-named Willis was acquired by Austin, Texas-based CLEAResult in 2012.

CLEAResult's work

Most of CLEAResult’s work comes through government and utility procurement bids, Dibaji said. The firm works with homeowners, commercial and industrial building owners, and Indigenous communities to identify energy needs and improve building performance.

Residential programs aimed at improving affordability for single-family homes are a mainstay. CLEAResult can manage a utility’s program from start to finish, installing low-flow shower heads, smart thermostats, insulation and heat pumps. Its services include auditing homes, identifying upgrade opportunities, arranging trades to complete the work and reporting the results to the utility, Dibaji said.

CLEAResult has partnered with provincial governments and utilities across Canada, and private organizations like Blackstone, Efficiency Capital and BOMA Canada.

“If there’s a major utility in a province or a government program, we’re probably delivering it for them,” Dibaji said. Those include Toronto Hydro, BC Hydro, SaskPower and Enbridge.

Dibaji declined to discuss specific case studies, but referenced CLEAResult’s work to support a utility’s program in Ontario that would provide free services if the client met the income requirement.

“There should be a reduction in bill impacts going forward, and their homes should be much more comfortable and healthy,” Dibaji said. Programs like this matter, given the financial pressures from inflation and tariffs that have sharply elevated the cost of living for many Canadians, he added.

CLEAResult Canada said in 2024 that its work had saved customers $2.2 billion in energy costs and 2.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the company’s lifetime.

Energy efficiency investments skyrocketing in Canada

CLEAResult expanded into Quebec in 2025 because the province “has always been a leader” in energy efficiency, Dibaji said. “We always looked at that opportunity to grow our business in the province.” Also in 2025, Hydro-Quebec announced a plan to invest $10 billion into energy efficiency by 2035, offering a significant opportunity for growth.

CLEAResult tried to understand the Quebec market better, Dibaji said, and to figure out how to support the province in meeting its energy goals. It was around this time when CLEAResult began to strengthen ties with GMI. The two companies built a friendly relationship and searched for ways to partner, Dibaji said. It became clear to both companies that the relationship should expand beyond a partnership, he continued, as both complement each other.

The acquisition of GMI is “a natural evolution” to CLEAResult and fits “our growth across the country,” Dibaji added. Prior to acquiring GMI, CLEAResult had over 350 core employees in Canada; now it has more than 450.

Energy efficiency is a fruitful sector today, Dibaji said. Ontario launched a 12-year energy efficiency framework this year that represents a $10.9-billion investment, for example.

Investments like this, Dibaji anticipates, will keep growing as the cost of energy generation and having a reliable grid keeps escalating. They will be “a vital tool in the utility and system operators’ tool belt” to manage costs, he added.

Provinces, particularly Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, are increasingly viewing energy efficiency as less of "a nice-to-have and more of a must-have as they contemplate electrification and increased demand across the country," Dibaji said.