The federal government will act to impose targets on dealerships across Canada for electric-vehicle sales starting early in 2023. Federal Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault wants to use quotas to help Canada catch up to a number of countries that have forged ahead in this regard and are seeing far greater numbers of EVs sold on their territory than Canada.
Similar quotas are already in place in Quebec (since 2018) and in British Columbia (since 2020), but the federal quotas would apply to automotive dealerships in all provinces.
Canada has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 50 percent by 2030, eliminate them completely by 2035, and reach zero-emissions status as a country by 2050. Currently, vehicles account for about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, so they would play a key role in helping reach that goal. Canada also wants to have 50 percent of vehicle sales in the country be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030, just eight years from now.
When we look at current EV sales in Canada, there’s good news and bad. According to the Canadian Press, Canadians bought more electric vehicles in the last two years than in the previous eight years combined. But only 3 percent of vehicle purchases are of all-electric or plug-in hybrid models.
In 2020, three-quarters of new electric vehicles sold were in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. In other provinces, demand is lower, but so is supply. While this lack of supply is aggravated at present by the ongoing shortage of microchips, new federal quotas will compel auto dealerships to up their game and make it more feasible for consumers to acquire an EV.
According to Minister Guilbeault, the quotas put in place by the governments of Quebec and British Columbia have had a definite positive effect on supply at dealerships and driven up sales of EVs. He also believes that if Canada falls further behind other countries in electrifying vehicle fleets, it will pay an economic as well as an ecological price.
Here are the percentages of EV sales in certain industrialized countries, as per Canadian Press:
Norway – 75 percent
Netherlands – 25 percent
Germany – 13.5 percent
France – 11.3 percent
United Kingdom – 11.3 percent
China – 5.7 percent
Canada – 3.5 percent
See also: 2021 Hybrid and Electric Car Guide: The Plug-In Hybrids
See also: 2021 Hybrid and Electric Car Guide: The All-Electric Vehicles
See also: Top 17 All-Electric Vehicles in Canada in 2021: More EVs By the Month
See also: Here Are the Top 10 Least-Polluting New Vehicles in Canada
