NEW – NB: Feds announce electric vehicle incentive program

Government failing to understand electric does not always mean greener and cheaper

New Brunswick is the last of the four Atlantic provinces to announce an incentive program for the purchase of eligible electric vehicles.

The purchase or lease of new qualifying battery electric vehicles and long-range plug-in hybrid electric vehicles may receive up to $5,000. People who purchase or lease new short-range plug-in hybrids may receive up to $2,500.

The CPA understands the importance of reducing carbon. However, considering that the source of the electricity in many cases throughout Atlantic Canada includes significant amounts of coal and oil means that electricity is not only not the cheapest but also not the greenest. For example, in New Brunswick, the carbon intensity of electricity being produced is 95g/MJ which is far more carbon intense than propane at 64g/MJ.

The CPA recently met with Simon Nadeau, manager of infrastructure and fleets at the Community College of New Brunswick. He had previously approached the CPA to discuss the option of auto propane vehicles. Nadeau initiated the conversation after Paolo Fongemie, past mayor of the City of Bathurst and now the college’s vice president to corporate services, recommended the college consider auto propane conversion to not only reduce GHGs but to also increase the reliability of its fleet.

The CPA will continue to advocate auto propane as an option of choice for their fleets.