Electric vehicle sales mandates are out, and EV consumer rebates are in. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a scrap of the contentious 100 percent EV mandate which had been set for 2035. The federal government is also launching a new five-year $2.3 billion EV affordability program which will be available February 16th. 

 It will offer purchase or lease incentives of up to $5,000 for battery electric and fuel EV’s and up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrid models. The rebates will only apply to vehicles under $50,000. 

“To support this Canadian auto industry, this $50,000 cap will not apply to Canadian-made EVs or Canadian-made plug-in hybrids. Those incentives will only apply to vehicles produced in countries with whom Canada has a free trade agreement.”

Chinese EVs will not qualify for the rebate. There will also be a new “work-sharing” grant to prevent layoffs in the auto industry, as well as new national EV charging infrastructure to “make it easier and more convenient for Canadians to charge their EVs, because too many Canadians worry about being able to get charging on journeys, especially in rural and northern communities.”