Quebecers account for nearly half the sales of electric vehicles in Canada: why?
Between 70 and 75 per cent of motor vehicles sold in Canada will have to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030 if the federal government is to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets, according to a report by the CD Howe Institute earlier this month.
Currently, only 3.5 per cent of vehicle sales in Canada meet this criteria.
Nevertheless, a number of provinces are making efforts to ramp up electric vehicle sales — and it seems Quebec is leading the charge.
A whopping 46 per cent of registered electric cars in Canada are in Quebec, according to the Association des véhicules électriques du Québec (AVÉQ).
The highest per-capita rate of electric vehicle registrations is in British Columbia at 8.4 per cent; Quebec follows closely behind at 6.8 per cent.
“People in Quebec pay a lot more attention to the environmental impacts of their choices and always voice their opinion positively towards making those changes to help out,” said Simon-Pierre Rioux, president of AVÉQ.
This alone doesn’t always mean Quebecers will make the most environmentally-friendly choice, he notes.
“One of the reasons why we’re starting to see this change is because people are seeing that there is a financial advantage [to] driving an electric car,” he explained.
MONEY TALKS: REBATES
To incentivize more Canadians to buy greener cars, the federal government is offering rebates on the purchase of zero-emission and hybrid vehicles:
- $5,000 for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and longer range plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs);
- $2,500 for shorter range PHEVs.
Longer-range PHEVs have a higher battery capacity, meaning they can be powered by more electricity than shorter-range PHEVs.
The federal government defines longer-range hybrids as having a battery capacity of at least 15 kW/h — any capacity lower than that is considered shorter-range.
Quebec has also established provincial incentives, which can be combined with federal rebates for maximum savings:
- $8,000 for new BEVs, FCEVs and PHEVs;
- $4,000 for used BEVs and FCEVs;
- $600 for the purchase of home-charging stations.
“It’s really advantageous,” insists Rioux.
Other provinces and territories offer financial incentives as well, but none are as high as Quebec, he adds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.