By Rochelle Baker
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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 HYPERLINK "https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/05/news/climate-hit-carney-dela..." \t "_blank" federal government’s lead, the province HYPERLINK "https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025ECS0045-001133" \t "_blank" 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.

Over the last decade, BC sped ahead of Ottawa, driving forward successful EV policies.

The province, along with Quebec, was the first to offer purchase incentives and invest heavily in charging infrastructure, resulting in both provinces’ leading Canada’s EV sales. In 2019, BC was the HYPERLINK "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/electricity-alternative-ener..." \t "_blank" first jurisdiction in the world to legislate phased transition to a 100 per cent ZEV sales target.

The HYPERLINK "https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-technologies/zero..." \t "_blank" federal government followed suit in 2023 before Prime Minister Mark Carney HYPERLINK "https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/05/news/climate-hit-carney-dela..." \t "_blank" announced a new review of national EV standards in September, citing the need to provide financial relief to automakers.

National sales of ZEV slumped in 2025 for a HYPERLINK "https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapsho..." \t "_blank" mix of reasons — including federal and provincial cuts or reductions to EV purchase incentives, HYPERLINK "https://www.unifor.org/news/all-news/trump-policies-stall-honda-ev-inves...." \t "_blank" economic uncertainty tied to US tariffs, and the resulting consumer backlash against Tesla vehicles, which were previously top-sellers.

Now, with the loss of provincial and federal incentives, consumers continue to delay purchases until they know what the new government policies will be, Ivity said. The ambiguity for consumers is also feeding the myth that people aren’t willing to buy EVs, so sales mandates can’t be met, he said.

“Governments analyzing market trends are like, ‘Woah, there’s a huge slowdown in purchasing … it must be that tough economy,” Ivity said.

The sales mandates long in place in BC and Quebec increased ZEV sales compared to provinces without them, said Zoe Long, co-lead of the Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team HYPERLINK "https://sustainabletransport.ca/" \t "_blank" (START) at Simon Fraser University.

“It's not a coincidence that electric vehicle sales are much higher in British Columbia, as well as Quebec,” Long said.

“Automakers make greater efforts to sell them here … and bring in a higher volume and diversity of models to appeal to consumers.”

BC is already on track to meet its 2026 targets for sales and placement of 10,000 public chargers by 2030. The province also reached its goal six months earlier than expected to have 210,000 battery-electric cars on BC roads by the end of 2025.

The province should moderately tweak ambitious sales targets rather than renounce responsibility to Ottawa, said Long. Targets between 90 and 95 per cent are achievable by 2035, she suggested, adding “we shouldn't let perfect be the enemy of good.”

Hitting the 100 per cent sales target could be challenging and can be perceived as unfair, especially by people in rural areas, she said.

“I’m not sure it’s worth it to force those people into an EV versus getting most people into EV.”

The CleanBC Review, a recent report evaluating the province’s climate plan, makes similar recommendations. The province should drop the 2030 sales target to 50 to 60 per cent from 90 per cent, eliminate the 2035 ban on gas-burning vehicles and replace it with a 90 per cent sales target.

The high cost of electric vehicles is one of the biggest roadblocks to uptake, regardless of where people live, said Long, who researches consumers’ resistance to buying an EV.

“When asked about electric vehicles, the most common thing brought up was affordability,” Long said.

The auto sector resists sales mandates because they must lower the price of EVs to meet the targets, Long said. But HYPERLINK "https://climateinstitute.ca/zev-mandates-are-good-climate-policy/#:~:tex...." \t "_blank" to maintain their profits, retailers can make gas-burning vehicles more expensive to compensate for cheaper clean-energy cars, she said.

While announcing the EV policy reversals, the province also said it will introduce two new regulatory changes in 2026 — including more relaxed rules around the type of vehicles eligible for credits — in a bid to offer automakers more flexibility, lower EV prices and expand the charging network.

The affordability measures appear to be a step in the right direction, said Long, but she cautioned the devil will be in the details.

Aside from weakening its EV program, the province has also weakened a shift to clean vehicles by HYPERLINK "https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/09/13/news/bc-premier-david-eby-ca..." \t "_blank" nixing the consumer carbon tax in April, said Kathryn Harrison, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia. Eliminating the tax makes polluting cheaper, which maintains consumer demand for gas vehicles and lessens the appeal for motorists to switch to EVs, she said.

Despite its success, BC must continue to make rapid progress, especially with heavy-duty transportation, Harrison said.

BC’s transportation spews out the greatest amount of carbon pollution, followed by the oil and gas industry. The sector is responsible for 41 per cent of the province’s total emissions according to the most recent 2023 data. Transportation emissions are up seven per cent relative to the 2007 baseline — while the goal is to reduce emissions in the sector by up to 32 per cent by 2030.

As EVs take off around the world, BC and Canada risk being left behind in a rapidly evolving global automotive market, Harrison said.

“EV sales are increasing significantly, and it's not just Singapore and Norway, it’s also Nepal and Ethiopia,” she said, noting consumers are snatching up lower-cost Chinese EVs.

Ivity said Canada needs to start meeting consumer demand rather than automakers' wishes.

The myth that North Americans only want big, more expensive vehicles that offer higher profits for the auto sector are a self-fulfilling prophecy if little else is available, Ivity said.

While European luxury models are available, the HYPERLINK "https://cleanenergycanada.org/europe-enjoys-21-evs-selling-for-less-than..." \t "_blank" numerous budget options are not, and nor are the range of small, cheap micro-mobility cars designed for urban driving and parking that are increasingly popular in the EU and Asia, Ivity said.

“Is it that consumers aren't demanding them, or is it that manufacturers who build a giant truck, SUV or large-size sedan, have a way bigger margin on them,” he said.

Europe has more than 21 EVs selling under $40,000 — with only one available in Canada — which is the price point half of people surveyed said would spur them to purchase a clean vehicle, HYPERLINK "https://cleanenergycanada.org/europe-enjoys-21-evs-selling-for-less-than..." \t "_blank" according to Clean Energy Canada.

The province’s turnaround also sends a deflating message to potential buyers and perpetuates misinformation that EVs aren't a viable choice, Ivity said.

“If the leading market in Canada shows reticence, or a sense of fear, this isn’t the right direction … that doesn’t give people trying to decide [on EVs] the confidence to actually go forward.“

Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer.