Jesse Kline: Carney can have my gas car when he pries it from my cold, dead hands

National Post

09-07-2025

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Of all the coercive environmental policies implemented by the Trudeau government, the electric vehicle mandate was among the worst, but Prime Minister Mark Carney has been mum on whether Ottawa still intends to force Canadians to ride around in souped-up Power Wheels.
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As industry and consumers have been putting pressure on the federal government to scrap the mandate — which will require 20 per cent of all new cars and trucks sold in this country to be zero-emission by next year, increasing to 100 per cent in 2035 — last week, the federal government offered a faint glimmer of hope that it may rethink this choice-limiting policy.
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Following a meeting between Carney and the CEOs of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, a spokesperson for the environment minister told the Post that Ottawa is 'engaging with the provinces, territories and industry to make sure that our measures reflect times we are in.'
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It's admittedly not much to go on, but there should be no doubt that much has changed since the Liberals introduced the EV mandate in late 2023. When Environment Canada announced the new regulations, it said they were designed to 'ensure that the supply of (EVs) being sold in Canada keeps up with consumer demand,' while paradoxically promising that the move would 'enhance choice.'
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But a year and a half later, that demand has failed to materialize. According to a Transport Canada report from last year, even in the absence of a government mandate, automakers had 'significantly increased and continue to invest in their (EV) manufacturing output,' leading to 'significant inventory improvements.'
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Yet, per Statistics Canada, EVs — which include those powered by electricity, hydrogen and hybrid engines — made up just 7.5 per cent of all new vehicles sold in April, a decline of 28.5 per cent from the same period in 2024.
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Part of this decline may be due to the loss of the $5,000 subsidy Ottawa was offering to EV buyers, after the government ran through its $3-billion budget to help rich people put fancy new Teslas in their driveways in January. But it puts a lie to the idea that Canadians would be buying EVs in droves, if only automakers were willing to sell them.
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If the mandate is going to be updated to 'reflect' current circumstances, it also needs to take into account changes that have been taking place south of the border.
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In the United States, sales have been slumping, as well, despite deep discounts offered by carmakers, with some EVs selling for noticeably less than their gas-powered alternatives, and most government supports still in place.
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When the Liberals announced the new regulations, they noted that California also had a plan to require all new vehicles to be electric by 2035 and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had proposed emissions standards designed to encourage EV adoption.