Abstract Canada has numerous climatic and geographical regions and the Canadian housing stock (CHS) is diversified in terms of vintage, geometry, construction materials, envelope, occupancy, energy sources and heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and equipment. Therefore, strategies to achieve net zero energy (NZE) status with the current stock of houses need to be devised considering the unique characteristics of the housing stock, the economic conditions and energy mix available in each region. Identifying and assessing pathways for converting existing houses to NZE buildings at the housing stock level is a complex and multifaceted problem and requires extensive analysis on the impact of energy efficiency and renewable/alternative energy technology retrofits on the energy use and GHG emissions of households. A techno-economic analysis of retrofitting renewable/alternative energy technologies in the CHS to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions was conducted to develop strategies to achieve or approach NZE status for Canadian houses. The results indicate that substantial energy savings and GHG emission reductions are techno-economically feasible for the CHS through careful selection of retrofit options. While achieving large scale conversion of existing houses to NZEB is not feasible, approaching NZE status is a realistic goal for a large percentage of Canadian houses.