Canadian Legislative News

The past year has been an active one regarding policies relevant to fleet. New developments in fuel economy regulations and environmental rules, carbon taxes, electric vehicle policy, and logging devices have continued to change the landscape for fleet operators in Canada in 2017. It is certain that 2018 will be equally busy.

Perhaps most-anticipated for the coming year will be the federal government’s upcoming and long-awaited electric vehicle (EV) strategy, to be announced sometime in 2018. Though the details have not yet been made public, it is expected that some form of EV incentive package will be included (as well as infrastructure investments, consumer awareness campaigns, and other elements).

For fleets looking to upgrade in 2018 and beyond and looking to green their complement of vehicles, a federal incentive program could be a tempting target.

Furthermore, it is possible that incentives made available to consumers could be even more generous for fleet managers, as the government seeks to achieve more with fleet greening, as opposed to the one-car-at-a-time approach prevalent on the consumer vehicle side. Minister Marc Garneau is expected to announce the federal EV strategy soon.

Elections in major provinces could also change the landscape, with Ontario being particularly notable. A change of government in Canada’s largest province would have profound implications for policies in the province, which by virtue of its sheer size often acts as a test subject for nationwide lawmaking.