More Canadians must buy electric cars, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Thursday. A federal memo earlier proposed that the cabinet nearly double rebates.
“We need to make sure we have adoption,” Champagne testified at the Commons industry committee. “We are working with [the] provinces,” he added.
“What specifically?” asked New Democrat MP Brian Masse. “The federal incentive program is still in place,” replied Champagne. Cabinet in 2019 introduced rebates of up to $5,000 for electric car buyers.
Automakers want more than the current grant offered to buyers. The federal government says its incentive program has helped make EVs more affordable and increase sales.
The Department of Environment has budgeted $2 billion for federal rebates. However, most Canadians consider electric autos too costly regardless of rebates, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has mandated that 60% of all new passenger vehicles sold by 2030 must be electric.
The cost of electric vehicles would need to plummet by 31% to meet his unrealistic sales targets.
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According to Leger polling commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), 59% of Canadians oppose the plan to phase out gas and diesel cars. Only 29% endorse the mandate to ban the sale of gas and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035.
“What is your plan to deal with this in terms of lowering costs for consumers in regards to the electric vehicle incentives?” asked MP Masse. “We need to work on adoption,” replied Minister Champagne.
“We have seen what is going on in the United States,” the minister said, noting that U.S. tax-funded rebates have nearly doubled since their inception.
“The United States is offering a clean vehicle tax credit that would provide eligible individuals with up to US$7,500 or approximately CDN$9,600 off an eligible new vehicle and up to US$4,000 or CDN$5,100 of an eligible used vehicle,” said the Department of Transport briefing note, Incentives For Zero Emission Vehicles Program.
The federal government’s obsession with electric vehicles appears to be a one-way street as only 3% of government-issued vehicles are zero emission.
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The Department of Environment and Parliamentary Budget Office put current subsidies at $151.5 billion, including $52.5 billion for auto and battery manufacturers.
Conservative MP Rick Perkins earlier told a parliamentary committee that the EV industry only thrives wherever a “massive government subsidy” is in place. Automakers are ‘doubtful’ that Canada will phase out new gas vehicles by 2035.
In-house research by the Department of Natural Resources asked if Canadians had considered driving an electric car. Forty-three percent said no.
Among those who said they’d considered it, a majority of 51 percent “say they have not taken any real steps to purchase or lease this type of vehicle,” said the research Canadians’ Awareness, Knowledge And Attitudes Related To Zero Emission Vehicles.
The report also found that 15% of Canadians surveyed “have no interest” in electric cars, 19% said they “do not meet my driving needs,” and 66 percent have never stepped foot inside an electric car.
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“Canadians want the option to buy new gas-powered minivans and diesel work trucks and taxpayers know this ban will cost us a fortune,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director.
The average price of a new vehicle in Canada is $66,000 — cheaper than the typical electric vehicle ($73,000). Unaccounted expenses include the “cost of retraining mechanics,” lost revenue for “gas stations with attached convenience stores” and higher insurance premiums.
“Trudeau should listen to Canadians, take this poll as a wake-up call and scrap his ban on new gas and diesel vehicles,” Terrazzano added.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in a December 19 interview with 640 Toronto’s “On Point With Alex Pierson” said “working class people” cannot currently afford EVs.
“The working-class guy who needs a pick-up truck,” he said, “is going to be forced to pay $20,000 or $30,000 more for an electric version that may or may not work in cold weather and driving long distances.”
“If these cars were affordable, you wouldn’t need a mandate,” Poilievre said. He intends to repeal the mandate if elected prime minister.
