B.C.’s energy minister says the province will work to align its electric vehicle (EV) targets with changes announced by the federal government on Thursday, Feb. 5.
“We don’t think there should be two sets of targets in Canada,” Energy Minister Adrian Dix said, “we think there should be one.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the federal government will end EV sales targets in favour of greenhouse gas emissions standards, which will effectively put Canada on the path to 75 per cent electric vehicle adoption by 2035.
Carney also allocated $3 billion to help the auto sector adapt, and $2.3 billion for purchase incentives of up to $5,000 for full electrics and $2,500 for plug-in hybrids. The federal government also previously announced it would drastically reduce tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles.
Dix had also previously announced B.C. would rethink mandated targets. B.C.’s EV sales had hit a high of 22.4 per cent in 2024, but then began to dip.
In November, he said the province’s targets — which mandated all new cars sold in B.C. be electric by 2035 — were “no longer realistic,” but didn’t say precisely what the new ones would be because he was waiting to find out what the federal government planned. He said at the time that he hoped to align the provincial and federal targets.
While the nature of the changes announced by Carney was not exactly what Dix thought would happen, he was supportive nonetheless because he says the federal plan uses efficiency standards to achieve the same thing targets would.
“Not entirely what we had expected in our discussions with the federal government, but it’s an absolutely legitimate approach for them to take,” Dix said.
The province will now need to decide how to align with the changes. Dix still expects to introduce legislation this spring.
He also said B.C. will not reintroduce its own rebate program to match or complement the federal incentives. The province will instead focus on expanding charging infrastructure, something he credited as a reason for higher electric vehicle uptake in B.C. than in other provinces.
“They’re doing the rebates. We’re focusing on the charging,” Dix said.
The province had its own program offering up to $4,000 per car, but it was paused last year.
Critics of B.C.’s electric vehicle sales targets called for immediate action to protect the industry from a policy that sets targets at 26 per cent for 2026. Automakers who fail to reach the sales targets or buy credits from other dealers could face a $20,000-per-vehicle penalty.
“If Ottawa can recognize reality and abandon a failing mandate, British Columbia should do the same — and do it immediately to avoid further costs to consumers and the economy,” said Barry Penner, chair of the Energy Futures Institute and former B.C.Liberal Environment Minister. “A one-page piece of legislation is all that is required to repeal this harmful program.”
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