It 'baffles my mind' that Ontario lacks EV rebates, says federal environment minister

Canada’s minister of environment and climate change is relying on a “carrot and stick” approach to spur zero-emission vehicle adoption across Canada, but warned that Ontario -- the country’s largest automotive market -- could fall further behind leading provinces if it does not reverse its stance on ZEV incentives.

Speaking at Electric Mobility Canada’s annual conference in Toronto Sept. 29, Steven Guilbeault said Ottawa’s blend of incentives and regulations will create market certainty in the growing ZEV arena as the federal government implements its sales mandate in the coming months.

“We need to be there when it comes to supporting deployment of charging stations. We need to be there to support people who want to transition from an [internal combustion engine] vehicle to an EV or a ZEV,” Guilbeault said.

“We also need to ensure that the regulations will accelerate as fast as we can and will help us achieve those goals as fast as we can.”

In March, the federal government laid out a plan to mandate that ZEV sales account for 20 per cent of all light-duty vehicle sales by 2026, 60 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035.

The process to design the mandates was under way this summer, according to the department of environment and climate change. Draft regulations are due out later this year or next.

But as Ottawa works to enshrine its sales targets in formal legislation, Guilbeault said not all provinces are pulling their weight on the transition.

ZEV uptake in British Columbia and Quebec is ahead of the curve, he said. According to Statistics Canada, 11.6 and 8.9 per cent of respective vehicle buyers in the two provinces opted for a ZEV last year.

Guilbeault credited provincial rules requiring automakers to sell a certain percentage of ZEVs in each jurisdiction, plus provincial rebates that stack with the up to $5,000 federal incentive, as the key drivers.

He singled out Ontario, on the other hand, as a province that is not doing enough to help residents access a ZEV. Last year, ZEV sales in the province, which does not offer incentives or have a ZEV mandate, accounted for 3.1 per cent of all Ontario vehicle sales, below the Canadian average of 5.2 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

'BAFFLES MY MIND'

Guilbeault said the lack of support for consumers “baffles my mind a little bit,” given Ontario’s auto manufacturing sector has racked up billions in investment this year, thanks to ZEVs.

“The Ontario provincial government refuses to offer incentives, where their province is one that is benefitting the most.

“There should be an incentive program … there used to be one,” he added, pointing to the rebate introduced by the former provincial Liberal government, which was scrapped by the Progressive Conservatives following the 2018 election.

The Ontario government, however, has resisted reintroducing the incentive, repeatedly saying its strategy hinges on supporting the manufacturing side of the ZEV market, as opposed to assisting consumers with purchases.

The Ontario ministry of economic development, job creation and trade did not directly address questions posed by Automotive News Canada Sept. 29 on whether it has studied the impact a provincial incentive would have on the province’s base of assembly and parts operations.

Ministry spokeswoman Vanessa De Matteis said the former Liberal government “allowed hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to leave the province” in the decade following the 2008 financial crisis, which left Ontario “unprepared for the EV future.” The PC government has since reduced the cost of doing business in the province by $7 billion annually, helping attract $16 billion in ZEV and battery supply chain investment, she added.

“These investments secured 100,000 jobs in Ontario, from critical minerals to EVs, with an end-to-end supply chain. Our government has invested over $2 billion in the EV sector, protecting the jobs of auto workers for decades to come.”

De Matteis would not comment on whether the province is being pressured by Ottawa to introduce a ZEV incentive.