Canadian Legislative News

The Government of Canada wants zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to account for 100 percent of new cars sold in 2040, according to a statement made by Transport Minister Marc Garneau.The targets were announced following a meeting of Canada’s transport ministers in Montreal in January.

The Federal Government would like to see ZEVs make up 10 percent of Canadian new vehicle sales by 2025; 30 percent by 2030; and 100 percent by 2040. These targets were communicated without consensus with the provinces or consultation with industry stakeholders. The government did not provide any details on how Ottawa intends to achieve these targets.

Provinces, municipalities and industry stakeholders including NAFA have worked extensively over the past two years with the federal government on the national ZEV strategy. The provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan have announced they do not intend to buy into the federal government new targets.

The data suggests that Canadians' demand for ZEVs has been growing. In 2018, nearly 45,000 plug-in EVs were sold in Canada, which makes up less than 2.5 percent of all new vehicles sold. At this time, 97 percent of the ZEV market is concentrated in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario — the only three provinces with incentives to purchase such vehicles. Adoption of ZEVs has been minimal in other parts of the country. In fact, since Ontario scrapped its rebate program last fall, ZEVs sales declined by close to 15 percent in that province, indicating the strong correlation between incentives and the ZEV rate of adoption.

Additionally, key impediments to consumers’ demand for ZEVs include higher upfront purchase cost, lack of charging stations, range, technology uncertainty, availability in a wide range of sizes and models, and lack of public awareness and education about ZEVs.