Rising pressure over the EV issue is part of the central tension facing Prime Minister Mark Carney, which is how much to adjust the Liberals’ climate policies to address concerns coming from industry and premiers, amid a time of economic uncertainty.
Longstanding demands from the
auto industry and its associations to scrap the electric vehicle mandate have grown louder in recent weeks, as they point to falling EV sales and struggles in the trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has taken direct aim at Canada’s auto sector.
Several provincial leaders at the meeting of premiers in Huntsville, Ont., have called on Carney’s government to back off the mandate, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said it should be scrapped because companies will not be able to meet the targets.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also called for its removal as part of a suite of changes she wants to see to the Liberals’ federal climate policies.
Under the mandate,
which the Liberals formalized in 2023, all new vehicle sales in Canada must be zero-emission by 2035, starting with a target of reaching 20 per cent by 2026 and then increasing to 60 per cent by 2030.
“Minister Dabrusin and Environment Canada seem to be committed to having an (electric vehicle) mandate in place, and we continue to make the case to them that there are no changes that you could make to this mandate that will solve the current situation that we’re in,” he told National Post, on a call while he attended the premiers meeting in Ontario’s cottage country.
Any changes the government might consider would take time to implement, he said, adding that there was “deep frustration” within the industry as it must decide how to meet the upcoming targets, with one option being to restrict sales of internal combustion engine vehicles.
“This is urgent,” Kingston said. “This isn’t a tomorrow problem.”
Under the policy, companies could earn credits either by selling zero-emission vehicles, which include plug-in hybrids or ones powered by hydrogen, purchasing credits from another electric vehicle maker, or spending money on building out charging infrastructure.
Should they fail to meet the targets, they could face penalties under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. As with all things of this nature, ultimately that cost would be passed along to the end user being…us.
“The environment minister does not want to scrap the mandate— that was made very clear to us, and that is extremely problematic for the industry. That option cannot be off the table. It is the most effective and fastest way to address this current problem,” Kingston said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Dabrusin said the policy was implemented to give Canadians access “to affordable zero-emission vehicles to fight climate change with Canadian innovation.”
So does that mean Canada will open the door to competition from Affordable Chinese EV’s?
With the environment minister not appearing to entertain the question of scrapping the targets, he said the “pressure is on” Dabrusin’s department to make them “mean something.” (???)
Longstanding demands from the auto industry to scrap the EV mandate have grown louder in recent weeks, as they point to falling sales and the U.S. trade war
apple.news
