Canada’s auto industry leaders are urging British Columbia to follow through on its earlier promise to align with federal emissions standards by scrapping its provincial zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
The call comes just one week after Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a similar request to BC Premier David Eby — in a letter pledging interprovincial cooperation alongside Québec.
Ford urged Eby to “repeal British Columbia’s EV sales mandate, which will directly limit the number of Canadian-made internal combustion engine vehicles that can be sold in your province.
British Columbia ended its EV incentive program in 2025, following the suspension of a similar federal program by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Since then, the Government has announced a new auto industry support package that includes rebates of up to C$5,000 on EV purchases.
At the federal level, Canada has permanently scrapped the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, which required automakers to hit EV sales targets of 20% by 2026, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.
In its place, Ottawa introduced stricter greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles, tightening the limit from 172 grams per mile to 74 grams per mile for model years 2027 through 2032.
The government expects the tighter standards to drive EV adoption to 75% of new car sales by 2035 and 90% by 2040, though those figures are projected outcomes rather than binding sales quotas.
BC, however, has kept its own ZEV rules in place.
The BC government has recognized the need to align with Ottawa’s revised policy and create a single, harmonized national sales target.
However, lobby groups representing the Detroit automakers — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — as well as Canadian manufacturers claim the province has yet to take any concrete steps to do so.
Auto Industry Demand
On Tuesday, several industry groups issued a joint statement calling for “immediate action,” citing increasing economic pressuores and affordability concerns for consumers.
Tim Reuss, President of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), argued that Canada should replace province-specific electric vehicle mandates with a single national approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
He accused British Columbia Premier David Eby of creating a trade barrier between provinces and “an affordability cliff” by maintaining the province’s own EV policy.
President of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association Brian Kingston echoed that view earlier in the week, calling provincial zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates “redundant and duplicative.”
Meanwhile, Blair Qualey, President of the New Car Dealers Association of BC, told Automotive News Canada on Wednesday that the provincial government has not shared a timeline for the policy realignment it previously promised.
He said the government recently wrapped up consultations with the industry but gave no indication of change.
“We haven’t heard anything other than what the premier’s said — that we’re going to have our own system,” Qualey noted.
The representative added that the industry considers the federal government’s approach — focusing on emission reduction targets rather than dictating vehicle sales quotas — to be more sensible.
“That’s what you want to fix,” he said, “so focus on that and let the industry figure out how to get there.”
He also warned that if Québec continues to pull back from its own EV targets, B.C. risks becoming “a little island,” isolated within the broader North American and global auto market.
Québec
Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford argued that Québec and British Columbia — the only two provinces that still have their own EV sales mandates — should repeal them.
According to Ford, maintaining provincial mandates after the federal government repealed its own creates a fragmented market that puts Canada’s auto sector at a competitive disadvantage against the United States.
In a letter to Québec Premier François Legault, Ford recognized that Québec has taken “steps to adapt,” including partially lifting its 2035 ban on new gas-powered vehicles and updating its zero-emission vehicle sales targets to reflect slower-than-expected EV adoption.
The province replaced a total ban on internal combustion vehicle sales by 2035 with a 90 per cent target for combined EV and hybrid sales.
However, Ford called those moves insufficient.
“Given the federal government’s decision to repeal its EV mandate, I am calling on Québec to take the next step by fully repealing its own mandate,” he wrote.
David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, echoed the call, urging Québec to remove its remaining EV sales targets.
EV Sales in Canada
After years of growth, 2025 marks the first year in which EVs lost significant market share in Canada.
Figures from JD Power show that among franchised auto dealers — a category that notably excludes Tesla — EV market share fell to 5% from 6.8% in 2024.
Plug-in hybrid share similarly declined, dropping to 3% from 3.9%. Only conventional hybrids bucked the trend, jumping to 14% from 10.5%.
Tesla‘s sales fell even more sharply.
Andrew King, managing partner of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, told Globe and Mail that Tesla sales “plummeted more than 60% due to the Canadian counter-tariffs on U.S.-built vehicles (and other reasons).”
Earlier this month, the EV purchase rebate of C$5,000 lowered the entry-level price of the Model Y to below C$45,000, considering the recently launched Standard iteration.
While Canadian imports usually came from the US, the company began sourcing Model Ys from the company’s European factory last year to bypass tariffs.
The company has briefly imported from China’s Giga Shanghai in mid-2023, as reported by Reuters.
These imports could resume as trade relations between Canada and the US show little sign of improvement, with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) facing challenges in the upcoming renegotiation.
After announcing in early January that it would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs per year to enter Canada at a reduced tariff of just 6.1%, the country began accepting import permit applications this month.
Under the new framework, the first 24,500 vehicles can enter Canada between March 1 and August 31 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Automakers already certified in North America are best positioned to benefit from the agreement, including Geely-backed Lotus, Volvo, and Polestar.
