Canada will require all new cars to be zero emissions vehicles by 2035

The new regulations, called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, will shorten the lengthy wait times for EVs that have been dampening consumer demand, said a senior government official whom the Star agreed not to name because they were discussing policy that hadn’t been made public yet.

“This is helping to solve one of the greatest barriers to EVs uptake: that wait times are too long,” they said.

“We are making sure that supply is going toward Canadian markets, because one of the issues with EVs is that we’re competing against other markets where the actual EVs are being shipped to.”

Despite reports earlier this year that EVs were languishing on dealer lots, actual sales numbers show there is a large and growing demand for electric cars and SUVs across Canada and around the world.

One in eight new vehicles sold nationwide is electric or plug-in hybrid, according to Statistics Canada’s records of registrations. In provinces that already have regulations requiring dealers to sell a certain proportion of EVs, sales are far higher. One in five new cars are electric in Quebec. In B.C, EVs make up nearly a quarter of all new car sales.

“By doing this nationally, we will make sure supply is available and that consumers in all provinces are going to get quicker access to the vehicles,” the official said.

In 2022, the Star published an investigation that found wait times for EVs were much longer in Toronto than elsewhere in Canada, and that dealers were pushing potential buyers toward gas powered vehicles, which had shorter wait-lists.

Anecdotal evidence suggests the situation hasn’t improved much in the meantime, with people waiting a year or more to receive delivery of a new electric vehicle.

The new regulations will require zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs), which include battery electric, hydrogen and plug-in electric vehicles, to make up 20 per cent of all new car sales in 2026, 60 per cent in 2030 and 100 per cent in 2035, the official said.

Companies can receive credits toward their ZEV sales quotas by selling EVs now, before the regulations come into effect in 2026, and by building public fast chargers, to make it easier for consumers to recharge their vehicles on the go.

This will complement the 84,500 chargers the federal government has committed to building by 2029, the official said.

While auto manufacturers have been investing tens of billions of dollars in transforming their production lines to make EVs, including building three new major plants in Ontario, they have also been pushing back against the regulations ever since they were released in draft form last year. 

“What the mandate does is it forces a ratio of EV sales that is completely unrealistic given the current affordability challenges facing Canadians and the charging infrastructure gap,” said Brian Kingston, president and CEO of Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association. “And that’s not feasible.”

“Rather than dictate which technologies have to be used, we should use the existing emissions regulations which Canada has aligned with the United States and make them increasingly stringent. And then you leave it up to the market and automakers to innovate, to reach those emissions reductions objectives,” Kingston said. “That’s the best approach.”

Industry analysts, however, say the status quo policies aren’t working. Despite overtures from the automotive industry of a commitment to zero emissions, carbon emissions from the transportation sector — which is largely cars and trucks — are on the rise.

Canadians drive the least fuel-efficient cars in the world, and they’ll continue to do so until they’re offered affordable zero emissions vehicles, said Joanna Kyriazis, Director of Public Affairs at Clean Energy Canada, a B.C.-based think tank.

“This will force automakers to make good on their promises to deliver more affordable models to meet their zero emission sales targets,” she said.

China, South Korea and the United Kingdom, as well as 17 U.S. states all have EV sales mandates, and these are where all the limited supply of EVs are being sent as soon as they roll off the line, she said.

“As a growing number of places put sales mandates in place, Canadians risk missing out,” she said.

It’s not just about reducing emissions, it’s also about making life more affordable. 

“EVs are one of the best ways for Canadians to save on their energy bills,” she said, citing a recent analysis showing EVs are so much cheaper to charge than a gas car is to fill up, owners would end up saving more than $33,000 over the course of 10 years.

Even in cases where the electric option costs more to buy, the EV will still work out cheaper overall, the report found. Most EV models broke even with their gas equivalents in under a year.