Having failed to meet his 2020 target for reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, despite repeatedly assuring Canadians he was on track to do so, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now doing the same thing by mandating sales quotas for new electric vehicles.
His government has decreed that 20% of all new cars, SUVs and trucks sold in Canada, beginning in 2026, must be all-electric or hybrid, which run on a combination of electricity and gas.
That will increase to 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035, the government says, to help reduce Canada’s emissions to 40% – 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.
Car manufacturers who fail to meet these quotas could face financial penalties of up to $20,000 per vehicle.
EV sales were 5.2% of the total Canadian auto market last year.
In the real world, Canada’s electricity grid — run by the provinces, not the federal government — is nowhere near ready to accommodate the increase in electricity generation needed to power EVs, nor is the necessary charging infrastructure needed to refuel them in place across the country.
EV sales today are hampered by the fact they are more expensive than comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with less range, especially in cold weather.
That’s why it currently takes massive federal and provincial government subsidies and sales mandates — in those provinces that have them — to get people to buy EVs.
That means lower income Canadians are subsidizing the sale of EVs to wealthier Canadians.
In fact, the federal government itself acknowledges that lower income Canadians will not be able to afford EV vehicles for now, meaning they won’t be able to achieve the major cost saving that comes from purchasing one — reduced gasoline costs.
In addition, the cost of installing home chargers for EVs was in the range of $480 to $870 last year (federal government figures), not including the cost of upgrading a home’s electricity service, especially for older houses, which can run to thousands of dollars
By mandating EV sales in Canada before the technology and infrastructure needed to make them economically viable for most Canadians are available, the Trudeau government is once again increasing the cost of living for ordinary Canadians, ostensibly to fight climate change.
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