Electric vehicle consumer rebates are on the verge of a return at the federal level, eh? This action will increase the availability and adoption of zero-emission cars nationwide. Now auto manufacturers are getting jittery about falling EV sales. They share our concern over the harm that U.S. tariffs would do to their industry. The iZEV program, one of the federal government’s key programs for addressing the high cost of EVs, provides rebates that used to give Canadians up to $5,000 off new electric vehicles. These incentives will be a major factor in ushering the transition to greener, more sustainable forms of transportation.
In response, the conservative government has delivered an EV mandate. By 2026, a minimum of 20 percent of new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada have to be zero-emission. By 2035, it will require that 100% of new light-duty passenger vehicles sold be zero-emission. The federal government took a step in the right direction in 2019 by creating the iZEV program to help fund this transition. Since then, it has funded close to $3 billion for over a half-million new passenger vehicles.
Yet despite this groundwork, the latest figures show that EV sales are falling off a cliff. In the first quarter of 2025, ZEVs accounted for only 8.11 percent of total new vehicle sales. This number dropped even lower to 7.53 percent as of April 2025. That sharp drop follows the wind-down of generous consumer rebates. These rebates had consistently prevented monthly EV sales from falling below 10.65 percent in 2024, with a high of 18.29 percent in December.
Doubts about the mandate’s attainability have been echoed by Canadian auto producers as well. They say the falling sales continue to drain the industry, most notably with looming U.S. tariffs still a possibility. Rachel Thomas, a Conservative MP, organized the letter and was particularly cutting in her condemnation of the present government’s lack of action. Currently, the Liberals have a mandate to make Canadians buy EVs. That’s not what works for Canadian families. She further urged the government to reconsider its stance, asserting that “if the Liberal government is truly going to stand with auto workers, then stop making the very vehicles that they’re producing illegal.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Julie Dabrusin responded to these criticisms head-on. She assured that a consumer rebate will be included in the government’s approach going forward. However, she stopped short of committing to have the program named as iZEV again. Dabrusin stated, “Will it be named, iZEV? That I can’t tell you. There will be a consumer rebate.”
The Liberal platform doubles down on re-establishing incentives that make EVs more attainable. Simultaneously, it makes room for the sale of used gas-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrids well beyond the 2035 deadline. The government is doing its best to steer through these headwinds. It is still committed to reaching its environmental targets and supporting Canadian families in a transition to the new automotive reality.
