Automakers are set to get a jolt Tuesday when Ottawa unveils its promised electric vehicle regulations.
CBC News has learned that Ottawa will release final regulations it says will ensure that all new passenger cars sold in Canada by 2035 are zero-emission vehicles, a senior government source said.
The source — who was not authorized to speak publicly — said the new regulations are meant to ensure that automakers produce enough affordable zero-emissions vehicles to meet the demand.
The regulations will be called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard.
The source said Canada is concerned about other countries, notably the U.S., dominating the supply of zero-emission vehicles. Several states have adopted sales targets for zero-emissions vehicles already.
The regulations will apply to automakers, not dealerships. Under the legislation, manufacturers must earn enough credits to demonstrate they are meeting the targets.
Automakers earn credits for EV sales
Manufacturers will earn credits based on the number of low- and no-emissions vehicles they sell, and those credits determine whether they’re in compliance with the regulations. Different vehicles earn different amounts of credits, depending on how close they come to a zero-emissions standard.
The source added auto manufacturers could earn early credits through a compliance system — up to a maximum of 10 per cent of their overall compliance requirements for 2026 — if they bring more EVs onto the market before then.
Automakers can also earn more credits if they help build out EV charging infrastructure.
Companies that exceed or fall short of their targets can sell or purchase credits from other companies, or use banked ones.
The source said more details of the regulations, to be enacted under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, will be revealed on Tuesday.
The regulations will apply to model year 2026 and sales targets will increase each year until 2035.
The federal government wants 20 per cent of all vehicles sold to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2026. That target rises to 60 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035.
According to a 2022 government analysis, the total anticipated cost to consumers of zero-emissions vehicles and chargers will be $24.5 billion over 25 years, but Canadians can expect to save $33.9 billion in net energy costs.
These estimates are part of a draft and may change when the government releases its final analysis.
This isn’t just an ordinary road. It can actually charge an electric vehicle — while it is in motion. Stefan Tongur of Electreon explains how this small stretch of road in Detroit charges electric vehicles and shows CBC News how it works.
Policy would prevent 430 million tonnes of emissions
According to the same regulatory analysis, the policy would prevent the release of an estimated 430 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental Defence, a Canadian environmental think-tank, estimates the policy would prevent the consumption of enough gasoline to fill roughly 73,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“Given that cars last on the road for 15 years, if not longer, after they’re bought, 2035 really needs to be the last year that we are selling gasoline cars in Canada brand new if we’re going to have any chance of actually, by 2050, reaching net-zero carbon emissions,” said Nate Wallace, the program manager for clean transportation at Environmental Defence.
Although emissions from Canada’s transport sector have fallen since 2005, they remain the second-highest source of greenhouse gas pollution.
The regulations are meant to both decarbonize the transportation sector and eliminate vast amounts of urban air pollution. Air pollution from vehicles, according to the analysis, increases the risk of developing lung cancer in adults and asthma and leukemia in children.
Emissions, the draft analysis noted, cause an estimated 1,200 premature deaths and millions of cases of non-fatal health outcomes annually.
The new regulations — called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard — are meant to ensure automakers produce enough affordable zero-emissions vehicles to meet demand, but auto industry representatives raised concerns about affordability and a lack of charging infrastructure. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
EV targets too aggressive, auto industry says
But auto industry representatives say the sales mandates are too aggressive.
“Instead of attempting to dictate what individuals have to purchase, we suggest that the government create the right set of circumstances to stimulate demand,” said Tim Reuss of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association.
Reuss also called on the government to consider the costs to families and challenges with charging electric vehicles, particularly for rural Canadians.
He also raised concerns about whether the electric grid is capable of handling the demand of all the EVs coming onto the market.
“Regulating Canadians to buy EVs they can’t afford or charge will be a made-up policy failure in Canada,” Reuss said. “Let’s get this right.”
The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which represents Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, said automakers are committed to electrifying their production. But its CEO, Brian Kingston, said stronger incentives are needed to make zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) more affordable.
“The forthcoming ZEV mandate will leave Canadians out in the cold,” said Kingston. “We’re calling on the government today to help Canadians make the switch to electric with the supports required. Not mandate what Canadians can and cannot buy.”
A 2022 government analysis of the new regulations said the total anticipated cost to consumers of zero-emissions vehicles and chargers will be $24.5 billion over 25 years — but it also said Canadians can expect to save $33.9 billion in net energy costs. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Challenges for low-income households
According to the draft regulatory analysis, the policy will be challenging for “northern and remote communities” and it notes that the government “is continuing to evaluate measures that could help facilitate this transition.”
While there will be fuel savings, the draft regulatory analysis says the regulations will disproportionately impact low-income households that might not be able to afford at-home charging equipment and could need to rely on publicly available charging stations “that may charge a premium on the cost of electricity.”
To ensure an easy, just transition, the draft analysis says the government will work on policies to ensure ZEVs and the needed charging infrastructure are accessible to everyone “despite economic or regional differences.”
Independent think-tank Clean Energy Canada argues that EVs will save money for Canadians.
A recent report from the organization found a typical Canadian household could save as much as $4,000 annually with an electric vehicle over a combustion engine vehicle.
“EVs are a big money saver for Canadian households,” said Joanna Kyriazis, the director of public affairs for Clean Energy Canada. “That’s money that can be spent on anything else.”
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
