Federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson blames the auto and oil industries for fuelling "misinformation and propaganda" about electric vehicles, just as his government is trying to broaden public EV uptake.
He called this campaign "regrettable and immoral" as the country deals with the twin challenges of affordability and climate change.
"I suspect it's from incumbent industries in auto and oil and gas, who are trying to protect their interests, that want to see this change slowed down," he said.
Robertson made the remarks in Victoria on Wednesday (Aug. 27) while touting a $22.7 million federal investment to pay for 480 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in B.C.
His appearance comes as a recent Ipsos/Energy Futures Institute poll suggests that public opinion is souring on provincial and federal EV mandates, which require a certain portion of new vehicles sold to be fully electric.
Federal mandates require dealers to sell 20 per cent electric vehicles by 2026, 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035. B.C.'s targets are more aggressive, requiring 26 per cent by 2026, 90 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
Leaked from B.C.'s Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions have revealed that the B.C. government is considering easing provincial mandates, acknowledging it will be "challenging" to achieve these goals because EV sales have levelled off.
Black Press Media reached out to the ministry for clarity on the future of provincial mandates, but did not receive a response by publication.
Barry Penner, chair of the Energy Futures Institute and former B.C. Liberal environment minister, wants to be rid of mandates, arguing the province is "putting the cart before the horse." He estimates B.C. will need 40,000 more charging stations by 2030. The latest figures from the Energy and Climate Solutions ministry say that just over 5,000 are in place.
"They're requiring people to purchase electric vehicles before we have sufficient electric bridging infrastructure in place," he said.
Penner said he worries about the impacts of flooding the market with electric vehicles that dealers can't sell, while simultaneously penalizing dealers for selling too many non-electric cars. Dealers must either pay an administrative penalty of $20,000 for each vehicle sold that exceeds the mandated ratio or buy a credit from another automaker.
He warns that this will force dealers to carry fewer gas-powered vehicles if EV sales are not high enough to keep the ratio within limits. If dealers seek an alternative and try to buy credits, Penner said they will likely end up paying money to Tesla, which is a major source of credits because it sells 100 per cent electric cars.
"So, seems like an unintended consequence that both provincial and federal policy are directing money towards Tesla from Canada," he said.
B.C. Conservative Transportation critic Harman Bhangu, like Penner, told Black Press he does not think B.C. can achieve the goals set out in the mandates because the charging infrastructure is not in place and EVs are still too expensive for many British Columbians.
"I'll tell you right now, on an MLA salary, I cannot afford it," he said.
Glenn Garry, president of the Victoria Electric Vehicle Association, has a different view. He agrees with Robertson that there is a lot of misinformation coming from the auto industry, pointing out that car dealers have several ways to defray the costs associated with breaching the mandates, including paying for charging infrastructure.
He said car companies willingly signed on to commit to the mandate program, but that it was only when U.S. President Donald Trump began attacking electric vehicle mandates that industry associations changed their tune.
"Now that the Americans are backpedalling, they're now pushing to backpedal as well," he said.
Garry is not too concerned about the lack of charging infrastructure, arguing the majority of EV charging is done at home.
"The vast majority of people, for a vast majority of all their travel, do not need public charging," he said.
Robertson, for his part, conceded there is a need to build more chargers. He said there is "a lot more" of these announcements planned across the country.
"The infrastructure needs to be invested in," Robertson said. "That's why we're here today."
Robertson added that the plan is to support Canadian jobs in the auto and battery-related industries as the country "aggressively" transitions to EVs.
"Notwithstanding the misinformation that might be out there about EVs, there is incredible growth and scale happening, and we need to support that with infrastructure," he said.
