Ottawa should scrap restrictive electric-vehicle regulations, GM Canada's CEO says

Globe and Mail

6 hours ago

Canada should scrap the rule that will require one in five vehicles sold in 2026 to be powered by an electric battery, the head of General Motors Canada GM-N says, warning that no traditional automaker is close to that threshold.
Twenty per cent of new car sales in 2026 must be battery-powered, an amount that rises to 60 per cent by 2030, according to federal regulations introduced in 2022 intended to limit the effects of climate change caused by carbon emissions. By 2035, all passenger vehicles sold must be EVs.
In 2024, 13.8 per cent of new vehicles sold, or roughly one in seven, were EVs, according to Statistics Canada.
Kristian Aquilina, president of GM Canada, said next year's targets are unattainable for GM and its competitors. The 60-per-cent mandate will lead to such unintended consequences as restricted sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and booming sales of older gas guzzlers, Mr. Aquilina said.
He wants the entire program ended.
Opinion: Canada's electric vehicle strategy has failed, and there are lessons to learn
Opinion: The real threat to Canada auto isn't Trump. It's our own government forcing EVs on us
Speaking at an event hosted by The Globe and Mail in Toronto, he pointed to a diminishing patchwork of incentives and subsidies for EVs and the lack of investment in charging stations. The federal government and provinces including Ontario and Quebec have paused, dropped or reduced subsidies and incentives to buy zero-emissions vehicles.
'When these mandates came into play, there was an understanding that there would be some investment in infrastructure as well as consumer incentives to help with the affordability,' Mr. Aquilina said. 'Some of those haven't [happened] or have stopped.'
EV sales in March fell 45 per cent compared with a year earlier, even as overall sales rose by 9 per cent, Statscan said. EVs accounted for 6.5 per cent of sales.
'It's unrealistic to believe that the country is going to go from 5 or 6 per cent to 20 per cent by model year ′26, which starts now,' Mr. Aquilina said in an interview. 'So that will force us to have to restrict the ability to sell ICE vehicles and there's dealership jobs all around the country reliant on those, there's manufacturing jobs relying on those.'
Mr. Aquilina said the slumping government support for EVs is depressing their sales at a time when consumers are still adjusting to the new technologies.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said in May that the federal government will bring back the EV incentive program, which gave car buyers $5,000 rebates for zero-emissions vehicles and $2,500 for hybrid gas-electric vehicles.
Joanna Kanga, a spokeswoman for Ms. Joly, did not address questions about any plans to alter or drop the EV mandates.
'The federal government is working hard to make sure that Canada's auto sector is able to compete over the long term by building EV supply chains here at home,' she said in an e-mail. 'Collaboration with the sector will remain essential to drive the innovation necessary to achieve our goals.'
Global electric-car sales rose by 25 per cent to more than 17 million in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency, but growth is slowing in the United States, a key market for automakers. The shift has prompted industry players to rethink some of the large investments they have made in supply chains, assembly lines and battery plants.
Honda Canada last month said it has postponed its $15-billion EV and battery project in Ontario. Stellantis NV delayed production of the electric Dodge Charger R/T in Windsor, Ont. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. scrapped plans last year to make EVs in Oakville, Ont. The plant west of Toronto will instead make gas-powered pickup trucks when it reopens, with plans for an electric version later on.