Transportation is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada after the oil and gas industry.1 Reducing these emissions is critical to tackle climate change and reach the Government of Canada’s target of net zero by 2050. This means transitioning from gas-powered vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), such as electric vehicles (EVs).
In 2023, Canada took a huge step forward when the Zero Emission Vehicle Regulations (ZEV Regs) became law. The ZEV Regs implement a “sales mandate”, requiring that a certain percentage of new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada are ZEVs, starting in 2026. And Canadians continue to support the ZEV Regs: a poll released on 30 September 2025 showed that 66% want to keep some version of a sales mandate in place.2
ZEV sales are taking off in Canada, representing 13.8% of new cars sold in 2024. This number is much higher in provinces that offer rebates on ZEVs: 30.1% in Quebec and 20.7% in B.C. and the territories.3 The federal government offered a rebate too, but the popular program was suspended in January 2025 when it ran out of funds.
Despite this strong consumer demand for ZEVs, automakers are determined to stop the federal sales mandates before they even begin in 2026. They say they can’t sell enough ZEVs due to the adverse effects of the United States’ tariffs on the Canadian auto industry. In response, the Government recently set a one-year pause on enforcing the 2026 ZEV sales targets and began a 60-day review of the ZEV Regs.
What Can We Do?
The automakers are lobbying hard. We need to make sure the Government hears from the rest of us during its 60-day review of the ZEV Regs.
↖️ You can use the information in this toolkit (click on the Table of Contents to the left) to provide well-informed feedback to the Government of Canada.
Email your comments to infovehiculeetmoteur-vehicleandengineinfo@ec.gc.ca by October 15.
We respectfully suggest that you ask the Government to:
- Maintain the ZEV sales mandate currently set out in the ZEV Regs with no pause or roll-back;
- Immediately reintroduce federal rebates for consumers purchasing ZEVs;
- Adopt policies to encourage the import and sale of lower-priced ZEV models that are available in Europe and elsewhere; and
- Consider taxing the sale of new gas-powered vehicles to reduce demand.
1 Government of Canada, “Greenhouse gas emissions: drivers and impacts”. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions-drivers-impacts.html.
2 Emma Jarratt, “Most Canadians want an EV mandate — and better prices: poll”, Electric Autonomy Canada, 30 September 2025. Retrieved on 30 September 2025 from: https://electricautonomy.ca/policy-regulations/2025-09-30/abacus-ev-mandate-clean-energy-canada/.
3 Statistics Canada, “In 2024, one in seven new vehicles sold in Canada were zero emission”. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/7915-2024-one-seven-new-vehicles-sold-canada-were-zero-emission.