b.c. noncommittal on following pm carney's pause on federal ev sales mandate
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a tesla car sits parked at an electric vehicle charging station.
justin sullivan
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the b.c. government wouldn’t commit friday to following ottawa’s lead in putting a pause on the zero-emission vehicle sales mandate for 2026, despite increasing pressure to do so.
prime minister mark carney, at a speaking engagement in mississauga, ont., announced the government’s decision to hold off on the federal requirement for 2026 and take 60 days to review the program.
in vancouver, however, energy minister adrian dix said the province is still working on promised adjustments to b.c.’s more aggressive mandates that have been promised to the industry, which has seen flagging sales.
“we’re going to be acting, and we’re going to be working with everyone,” dix said during a media scrum at the vancouver convention centre.
dix had few other details on what immediate actions the province will take, other than to say “our response will be substantive,” and will be delivered “soon.”
the federal step comes after months of pressure from canada’s embattled auto sector, which is struggling to cope with u.s. president donald trump’s 25-per-cent tariff on foreign vehicles.
the easiest thing for b.c. to do would be to follow suit, said blair qualey, ceo of the province’s new car dealers association, who welcomed the federal side of the decision friday.
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qualey said keeping b.c.’s mandate in place is “problematic,” but he remains “hopeful the minister will make a decision respecting the challenges and keeps the (ev) transition going without delivering higher costs to consumers.”
the federal mandate that was paused called for 20 per cent of light-duty vehicles sold in canada to be electric or plug-in electric hybrid in 2026, rising to 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
b.c.’s thresholds, as they stand, are 26 per cent of sales to be zero-emission in 2026, 90 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
sales in b.c., however, particularly for evs, have declined steeply after the province and federal governments hit pause on incentive subsidies worth up to $9,000.
in june, ev sales in b.c. were just 15 per cent of the market compared with 25 per cent in the same month a year ago.
dix said the s&p report’s numbers weren’t accurate and b.c.’s ev sales this year have been about 17 per cent, which still makes the province the leader in north america. however, he acknowledged the industry challenges and promised “we’re going to be very clear about the direction we’re going in.”
dix said b.c. will continue to work with the federal government on measures to make evs more affordable and on hitting its objectives for building-out ev charging networks.
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“i think the targets for 2026 are less an issue, but we’ll give an indication on that as well,” dix said. “and then in addition to that, we have to address the target for 2030, which is clearly unaligned with the current condition. so we have to make changes in those targets.”
he added that b.c. is continuing to work with the federal government and hopes they can still agree on the federal mandate.
qualey said that, in the meantime, the prospect of mandates is “skewing the market,” as manufacturers contemplate drastic actions to stay inside their terms. under b.c. legislation, manufacturers face penalties of up to $20,000 per vehicle for the sale of every combustion-engine vehicle above the 74-per-cent ratio in the mandate.
“manufacturers are being forced to take other actions, like reducing the supply of vehicles to meet these arbitrary targets on top of them,” qualey said.
qualey added that his group has viewed the ev transition as a “three-legged stool.”
“(one), you need some way to bridge the price gap, and that was the rebates,” which qualey said they’re lobbying governments to bring back. “two, you need charging infrastructure, because people have to know where they live, work and play, that they can charge these things. and three, you’ve got to spend time and resources on educating people, because it’s a whole different experience” driving evs.
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the energy futures institute, a think-tank that has been critical of b.c.’s energy policy, had another argument for b.c. to also pause its mandate.
barry penner, energy futures’ chairman, and a former provincial environment minister, said b.c. has no chance of hitting its 26-per cent ev sales target for 2026.
and pushing the mandate, without rebates and an ev-charging infrastructure that still isn’t adequate, “isn’t climate leadership, it’s a recipe for climate policy resentment,” penner said in a news release.
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