A new federal government plan to impose a sales mandate for zero-emission vehicles as early as 2026, has set Ottawa on a collision course with Canadian dealer and automaker groups that are championing a different path to a fully electric fleet.
Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, introduced Ottawa’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan in Vancouver March 29, while the government’s 2022 budget, tabled April 7, backed up the policies with fresh funding. The plan includes a mandate that 100 per cent of new light-duty vehicle sales be ZEV by 2035. It also lays out accelerated intermediary ZEV requirements of 20 and 60 per cent of new light-duty sales for 2026 and 2030, respectively.