EV rebates under review as B.C. looks to offset cost of removing carbon tax

CBC

01-04-2025

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Rebates for electric vehicles, along with other parts of the Clean B.C. program, could be on the chopping block as the province looks to balance the estimated $1.5 billion additional fiscal hole in its budget left by the termination of the consumer carbon tax this week.
Premier David Eby indicated that cuts could be coming to the program that offers rebates to individuals and businesses for cutting their carbon footprint. On Monday, Eby said his government is "restructuring significant parts" of Clean B.C. and that changes will need to be made.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix said that among the areas of Clean B.C. currently under review are EV rebates for consumers. However, he said that support for heat pumps and window improvements is expected to continue.
Jeremy Valeriote, interim leader of the Green Party, said that a review of Clean B.C. was agreed upon in the deal struck between the NDP and Greens finalized last month.
"It makes sense to put everything on the table and see what's working and what's not," he said, adding that he does not want EV rebates to be cut in this process.
The federal government previously offered up to $5,000 toward an EV purchase, subject to some restrictions – but abruptly halted its rebate program earlier this year due to high demand.
BC declined to clarify how much money was left for its own EV rebate program in the wake of the federal rebate's termination.
The provincial program, Go Electric, provides income-based rebates. It offers between $500 and $2,000 for plug-in hybrids with a range of less than 85 kilometres and between $1,000 and $4,000 for battery electric and long-range plug-in hybrids.
Conservative Leader John Rustad said all of the Clean B.C. rebates should be scrapped.
"When you look at the potential damage from Clean B.C. to our economy and how it will put a brake on our economy, it actually needs to be pulled out," he said.
B.C.'s EV sales targets increasingly out of reach: report
A report from the Energy Futures Institute, authored by Jerome Gessaroli, found that EV sales have fallen in recent months — down from 22.5 per cent of new vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 18 per cent in February 2025.
Gessaroli, lead of the Sound Economic Policy Project at the B.C. Institute of Technology, attributes it to the phasing out of government incentive programs. It's a trend he expects to continue, which he says will make B.C.'s EV sales targets of 90 per cent of new cars by 2030 out of reach.
Ultimately, he says the rebates are a bad policy, as taxpayers are helping to fund the purchase of expensive EVs that are inaccessible to many low-income British Columbians.
"It's a very expensive way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he said, proposing that the EV targets should be focused on emissions rather than sales.
Currently, Dix said B.C. is a leader in Canada when it comes to EV sales, and that sales targets have so far been met.
"The next step in the mandate is probably reachable, but I think having people buy more EVs is the most important thing," said Dix.
Environmentalist says climate tax recall 'rushed through'
Jens Wieting, senior policy and science advisor with the Sierra Club, says he supports a review of Clean B.C. but warns that any disruptions to EV rebates could make it harder to achieve the set targets, as inconsistencies can cause confusion for potential EV customers.
"A review is necessary, but it must be done in a way that addresses the question of meeting our climate targets, addressing cost of living, and making sure we are sustaining hope for a livable planet and a livable future," said Wieting.
He says the cancellation of the carbon tax was "rushed through" by the government, which he says will have consequences for emissions and for low-income British Columbians who benefited from climate tax rebates. In reviewing Clean B.C., Wieting is concerned about the government undermining progress on climate action in pursuit of short-term economic gains.
"Right now, we have a trade conflict, and overall, the focus seems to be on the economy, but clearly, we need governments to take action to respond to more than one crisis at a time."