Ottawa's weak EV targets could stall BC's transition

Written By Peter Allan

Energy Minister Adrian Dix sits in an electric vehicle at the 2025 EV Drive and Ride Day at the Legislature in Victoria. Photo courtesy: Government of British Columbia / Flickr

By Rochelle Baker

BC is squandering its electric vehicle advantage by rolling back ambitious targets to match Ottawa's slower pace, experts warn.

It’s “counterintuitive” for BC — which still commands a zero-emission electric vehicle (ZEV) market share of nearly 20 per cent even during a sluggish sales year — to yoke itself to national targets that accommodate slower markets like Saskatchewan, said Richard Ivity, board chair of the national Electric Vehicle Society.

“It's definitely a 90-degree turn,” he said, adding BC already has good charging infrastructure and a low-rate clean electrical grid.

“It’s very difficult to be a leader when you put yourself in the middle of the pack.”

Following the federal government’s lead, the province recently scrapped its rebate program for EV purchases and plans to relax the mandate that all new vehicles sold must be zero-emission by 2035.

It’s BC’s “strong view” that sales targets shouldn’t differ in Canada and its “vital” to provide “clarity and accelerate [EV] adoption,” Energy Minister Adrian Dix said, adding the federal government’s review, expected before year’s end, will inform provincial policies.

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