The federal Liberal government has unveiled its plan for Canada to move away from fully gas-powered cars and toward electric vehicles, mandating that all sales of passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers and light trucks be hybrids, electric or hydrogen-powered by 2035.
“What we’re proposing is that, by 2035, we progressively make it easier and easier to buy electric vehicles,” Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault told CBC’s Power and Politics.
“So 12 years from now, 100 per cent of new vehicles sold would have to be electric vehicles. But people who have gas-powered engines would be able to continue using them past 2035; they just won’t be able to buy new ones.”
Here are some of your most common questions about the plan.
Can Canada’s electrical grid support the change?
Experts say yes, but not without work.
A 2020 report commissioned by Natural Resources Canada said that due to EVs, electrical power demand on the grid has the potential to increase 22.6 per cent by 2050.
“For a sense of scale, the forecasted [zero-emission vehicle] load is equivalent to adding Ontario’s 2019 annual electrical load to the national grid,” the report says.
“This number is significant, but since the growth is spread over 30 years, with most of the growth happening during the 2030-2050 timeframe, Canadian utilities have 10 years to refine the load forecast and plan for grid expansion.”
More broadly, the federal government said this summer that getting Canada’s grid to net zero by 2035 will require more than $400 billion to replace facilities and expand capacity. Critics say the plan will drive up prices and possibly make electricity less reliable.
Joanna Kyriazis with the think-tank Clean Energy Canada said individual vehicle owners don’t need to worry.
“An electric vehicle actually uses less electricity than a lot of common home appliances like your air conditioner, your water heater, even some space heaters,” she said. “So it’s not going to, you know, severely impact the grid at the household level.”
She said the federal EV mandate should help grid preparations by making the number of electric vehicles more predictable.
‘There is clearly a demand’ for electric vehicles in Canada, says environment minister
‘People who have gas-powered engines would be able to continue using them past 2035. They just wouldn’t be able to buy new ones,’ Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault told Power and Politics regarding his government’s new regulations to increase the number of electric vehicles in Canada.
What about rural Canadians who travel long distances or don’t have access to charging stations?
The Canadian automobile industry shares those concerns. It complains that the charging network is incomplete, especially in rural areas.
“Achieving higher [zero-emission vehicle] sales levels depends on favourable market conditions, stronger consumer purchase incentives … widespread charging infrastructure [and] expanded grid capacity,” said Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.
Natural Resources Canada estimates that depending on the availability of home charging, Canada will need between 442,000 and 469,000 public charging ports by 2035. It says that as of Dec. 1, there are 10,425 charging stations and 25,246 charging ports.
Under the new plan, automakers will need to earn a minimum number of credits or they could face fines — and one way to earn credits is to install more charging stations.
Guilbeault said a combination of private and public funding will build out the network.
“It’s not happening tomorrow,” he said. “It will happen progressively between now and 2035, and we have time to deploy the infrastructure.”
Sask. prof says province should be able to build charging infrastructure in time for feds’ 2035 EV mandate
A Saskatchewan environmental historian says he believes Saskatchewan should be able to develop enough infrastructure to be able to comply with new federal rules requiring all new vehicles to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035.
What if I live somewhere cold?
In an effort to address complaints that EVs are impractical in remote and northern areas, where cold conditions can cut the efficiency of batteries, plug-in hybrids with an all-electric range of 80 kilometres or more will remain eligible for sale in 2035 and beyond.
Earlier this year, Seattle-based firm Recurrent measured range loss in EVs at temperatures between –7 C and –1 C, and found 18 popular models had an average of 70 per cent of their range in freezing conditions, though there was a wide discrepancy depending on the vehicle.
Recurrent stresses that temporary range loss is not permanent battery damage, and when the temperature warms, the maximum range returns. Drivers can compensate for range loss by pre-heating their vehicles before they leave and by buying vehicles with heat pumps.
The government insists that concerns about EV performance in cold weather are overblown, noting that electric vehicles dominate the current sales market in Norway.
“Advancements in battery technology have improved cold-weather performance and increased the range of many currently available models to over 400 kilometres, representing a substantial improvement from earlier models,” Tuesday’s announcement said.
There are a lot of misconceptions about how EVs do in the cold. We heard from an electric vehicle owner and an electric vehicle researcher to set the record straight.
What if I live in an apartment or condo?
Most rental apartments don’t currently come with the electric capacity to charge electric vehicles in-house. While some condo owners have started to push for charging stations to be installed in their buildings, it can be difficult to persuade all residents and a condo board due to high installation costs and resistance from corporate landlords.
There are different incentives and regulations country-wide for new builds to include varying numbers of EV charging stations. The federal government is providing some funding to install EV chargers in multi-dwelling builds. It’s also trying to make changes to the Canadian Electrical Code so that new residential buildings will be EV-ready.
Guilbeault said the number of vehicle owners who aren’t able to charge at home is about 20 per cent.
“You will have reserve parking space — I see it in my neighbourhood — reserve parking space for electric vehicles where people can charge overnight with charging stations that are deployed by municipalities,” he said.
“More and more it’s going to be easier to charge an electric vehicle than it is today.”
How do you charge an EV without a garage or driveway?
Windsor is looking at ways to add more EV chargers across the city, including options for people without a driveway or garage. The CBC’s Chris Ensing looks at what’s working in other cities ahead of the transition to electric vehicles.
What purchase incentives will there be?
The federal government offers a $5,000 rebate for fully electric vehicles and $2,500 for hybrids within certain price points. Quebec, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces also have provincial rebates that range from $500 to $8,000 depending on certain conditions.
Guilbeault said all provinces should get “on board” with the EV plans, singling out Ontario as one of the laggards.
He said the federal government would stick to its $5,000 rebate for now.
Guilbeault urges provinces to ‘get on board’ with electric vehicle rebates
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is calling on the provinces to ‘get on board’ with incentives to encourage sales of electric vehicles.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
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