• The Canadian government says it will bring back EV purchase incentives - eventually.
The federal program that provided rebates for electric vehicle purchases, known as iZEV (Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles), was unexpectedly cut by Justin Trudeau's government last January.
While it was known that the funds allocated to it were running out and that its end was expected this spring, its early and abrupt discontinuation in January surprised and shocked the industry, particularly dealerships that found themselves with significant inventories of electric vehicles they had anticipated selling with the program in place.
Program reinstatement and market impact
Much has happened since then, including a change in government leadership with the election of Mark Carney. There have been rumours in recent weeks that the program would return. Yesterday, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin confirmed that the federal government will relaunch a consumer incentives program to make EVs more affordable and accessible.
It's not known when the program will be reinstated or what it will be called, but we can expect an announcement as part of the budget presentation coming this fall.
Declining sales and future targets
The suspension of the iZEV program has heavily impacted electric vehicle sales. One reason is that many consumers, knowing the program’s days were numbered, were making their purchase early. When the program fell, so did EV sales.
The numbers speak for themselves. In the first quarter of this year, the percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales in Canada was 8.11 percent, down from 16.5 percent in Q4 of 2024, according to information from Statistics Canada.
In 2024, the lowest monthly percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales was 10.65 percent. In April 2025, it was 7.53 percent.
It’s worth remembering of course that the Canadian government has a mandate regarding the percentage of zero-emission vehicles that must be sold each year leading up to 2035, at which point all new vehicles sold will be required to be zero-emission. For 2026, the requirement is 20 percent. For that to be attainable, the government must reintroduce incentives to encourage the sale of electrified models.
In Ottawa, the official opposition is demanding the withdrawal of the standards leading towards 2025, arguing that they no longer reflect market
