The Saskatchewan government plans to double electric vehicle registration fees, increasing them from $150 to $300. The province says the money collected will be used for road maintenance and repair.
Saskatchewan launched the tax on new EVs in October 2021; the increase will take effect on June 1st.
As we’ve seen in a few American states, the stated goal is to ensure that electric vehicle owners contribute to funding road upkeep as much as gas-engine vehicle owners, who pay for it through taxes collected on sales of gasoline.
As reported by Automotive News Canada, Cara Clairman, CEO of Plug'n Drive, a non-profit organization committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, believes the tax should not lead to a drop in electric model purchases.
"At that amount, I don’t think it will deter folks from buying an EV, but it is unusual given other provinces are providing incentives to purchase."
Those incentives have been subject to turbulence, however. Recall that the federal discount program was abruptly halted in January. In Quebec, the government had already announced reductions in the incentive amount for 2025, but then suspended its program until the presentation of the next government budget. In British Columbia, the number of vehicles eligible for a rebate has been restricted.
Manitoba, meanwhile, became the latest province to offer incentives for the purchase of an electric vehicle.
As for Saskatchewan, the increase in EV registration fees is not exactly going to fill government coffers there - in 2024, only 1,394 electric vehicles were registered in the province.
Nonetheless, eyes will now turn to other provinces that may be tempted to make political points and, who knows, hope for some eventual new sources of revenues as EVs spread and the money collected from gas taxes declines.