The Conservative Party of Canada vowed April 22 to repeal the federal electric-vehicle mandate if elected to form Canada’s next government April 28.
The pledge included in the party’s platform would eliminate escalating zero-emission vehicle sales targets that require ZEVs to account for 20, 60 and 100 per cent of new-vehicle sales in Canada by 2026, 2030 and 2035, respectively. Automakers face penalties of $20,000 per vehicle for falling short on ZEV sales and failing to acquire adequate offset credits.
The Conservative platform said the move will “preserve choice for consumers” while eliminating “punitive taxes.”
The Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, commonly known as the EV mandate, was enacted in 2023.
It has faced growing criticism from auto industry groups since. The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association and the Global Automakers of Canada continue to push Ottawa to walk back the regulation, whose targets they say are not achievable in the current climate.
Environmental and EV advocacy groups including Electric Mobility Canada, meantime, back the mandate. They say the sales requirements support the shift to EVs by ensuring automakers deliver an ample supply of vehicles to Canada.
The governing Liberal Party of Canada, which introduced the legislation during former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure, has not addressed the EV mandate during the campaign, nor did it highlight the regulation in its platform released April 19.
The party did not respond to a request for comment about the future of the mandate.
Support for auto manufacturing prominent in campaign platforms
While the focus on electrification has faded since the last election cycle, the two leading Canadian parties have positioned themselves firmly behind the country’s auto sector in the wake of U.S. tariffs designed in part to pull manufacturing plants and jobs into the United States from Canada.
In its platform, the Liberal party vowed to create a $2 billion “strategic” response fund to protect local auto manufacturing jobs, to prioritize Canadian-made vehicles in government procurement and build an “all-in-Canada” network for auto parts.
The party also pledged $1.5 billion over three years to expand the country’s EV charging network and said it would “look at ways” to reintroduce the $5,000 consumer EV rebate, which lapsed in January.
The Conservative party said it would eliminate the federal sales tax on Canadian-made vehicles in response to U.S. tariffs, create a fund to support auto workers affected by the trade war and maintain all existing government support for the auto supply chain.
