The Trudeau government is expected to announce next week that all new cars will have to be zero-emissions by 2035, according to a senior government source.
Under the new rules, called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, Ottawa aims to ensure that the Canadian market will have an ample supply of electric vehicles to lead by example as a country that is moving towards electrification, the source told Reuters.
Both British Columbia and Quebec already have provincial sales targets in place.
The different zero-emissions vehicles include plug-in, battery and hydrogen models and will be required to make up 20% of all new car sales in 2026 and 60% by 2030.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the plan is to have 100% of all new sales be zero-emissions by 2035.
About 13% of all new auto sales are now EVs worldwide, and that number is expected to increase to 40%-45% by 2030, estimates the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Tesla, the leading manufacturer of EVs, sold 325,291 vehicles in the United States in the first six months of 2023. General Motors’ Chevrolet brand of EVs was the second highest selling company behind Tesla, selling 34,943 over that same time period.
Despite pressure from the federal government to make EVs more popular, there is growing pushback from Canadian consumers as EVs are known to have more issues of reliability and problems when compared to gasoline vehicles.
The J.D. Power Canada Electric Vehicle Consideration Study found that 66% of Canadians are either “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to consider an electric car for their next purchase – up 13% from last year.
The number of Canadians considering an electric car has decreased from 47% to 34%.
A Consumer Reports survey conducted recently also found that electric vehicles encounter 79% more problems when compared to gas vehicles.
Last week, leaders of Canada’s automotive industry held a press conference to warn Canadians that the push to move towards all vehicle sales being electric is premature.
“With the current high interest rates and high inflation severely impacting consumer affordability, many consumers lack the means to purchase EVs as evidenced by the rising inventory levels on our dealers’ lots today,” Tim Reuss of the Canadian Automotive Dealers Association.
“Instead of attempting to dictate what individuals have to purchase, we suggest government focus on creating the right set of circumstances to stimulate demand.”
