A recently proposed federal mandate to require all vehicles sold in Canada to be electric by 2035 will cost at least $99 billion, according to new government figures. takes.
Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeau’s department wrote in its regulatory notice: According to Blacklock’s Reporter, December 31st.
Environment and climate change Canada added that zero-emission vehicles are generally more expensive than petrol or diesel vehicles, and that overall price increases “could lead to fewer purchases.”
“It is difficult to estimate the magnitude of these consumer welfare losses,” the staff wrote.
Guilbeault announced a number of proposed regulations on December 21st. If these regulations are finalized by the Cabinet without amendment, he would be required to make one-fifth of new cars sold in Canada electric by 2026.
By 2030, that number will rise to 60% of all new cars sold, jumping to 100% by 2035.
Guilbeault’s division provided a rough breakdown of the $99 billion in the notice.
The nearly $56 billion cost is due to “increase in total power costs over the time frame,” bringing the price of electric vehicles (EVs) and home charging to around $24.5 billion.
A total of $16 billion will be spent on federal subsidies to car and battery makers, and about $2 billion will be spent on rebates to Canadians who buy EVs between 2023 and 2025.
Other costs, less than $1 billion each, will go towards federal grants to create more public EV charging stations.
Other expenses
The $99.4 billion total includes the cost of “retraining mechanics” to specialize in repairing non-electric vehicles only, and “raising insurance premiums for EV accidents as they tend to be heavier due to their weight.” Potentially associated costs are not included. of the battery on board. ”
Guilbeau’s department also doesn’t account for the cost to homeowners who have to buy a home charging station if they buy an EV.
“Installation costs were not taken into account in this analysis and may have been underestimated,” the notice states.
“There is an urgent need to address climate change and transition to a low-carbon economy. Greenhouse gases are a major contributor to climate change, and the transport sector accounts for 25% of Canada’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions. “
The government has pledged to fund an additional 50,000 public charging stations across the country. This will bring the total number of government-funded charging stations up to 85,000 by 2027.
Since 2016, Ottawa has spent $1 billion to install a national network of EV charging stations.
Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report.
Peter Wilson is a reporter based in Ontario, Canada.