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The federal Liberal government has unveiled its plan for Canada to move away from fully gas-powered cars and toward electric vehicles, mandating that all sales of passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers and light trucks be hybrids, electric or hydrogen-powered by 2035.
"What we're proposing is that, by 2035, we progressively make it easier and easier to buy electric vehicles," Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told CBC's Power and Politics.
"So 12 years from now, 100 per cent of new vehicles sold would have to be electric vehicles. But people who have gas-powered engines would be able to continue using them past 2035; they just won't be able to buy new ones."
Here are some of your most common questions about the plan.
Can Canada's electrical grid support the change?
Experts say yes, but not without work.
A 2020 report commissioned by Natural Resources Canada said that due to EVs, electrical power demand on the grid has the potential to increase 22.6 per cent by 2050.
"For a sense of scale, the forecasted [zero-emission vehicle] load is equivalent to adding Ontario's 2019 annual electrical load to the national grid," the report says.
"This number is significant, but since the growth is spread over 30 years, with most of the growth happening during the 2030-2050 timeframe, Canadian utilities have 10 years to refine the load forecast and plan for grid expansion."
More broadly, the federal government said this summer that getting Canada's grid to net zero by 2035 will require more than $400 billion to replace facilities and expand capacity. Critics say the plan will drive up prices and possibly make electricity less reliable.
Joanna Kyriazis with the think-tank Clean Energy Canada said individual vehicle owners don't need to worry.
"An electric vehicle actually uses less electricity than a lot of common home appliances like your air conditioner, your water heater, even some space heaters," she said. "So it's not going to, you know, severely impact the grid at the household level."
She said the federal EV mandate should help grid preparations by making the number of electric vehicles more predictable.
What about rural Canadians who travel long distances or don't have access to charging stations?
The Canadian automobile industry shares those concerns. It complains that the charging network is incomplete, especially in rural areas.
"Achieving higher [zero-emission vehicle] sales levels depends on favourable market conditions, stronger consumer purchase incentives ... widespread charging infrastructure [and] expanded grid capacity," said Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.
Natural Resources Canada estimates that depending on the availability of home charging, Canada will need between 442,000 and 469,000 public charging ports by 2035. It says that as of Dec. 1, there are 10,425 charging stations and 25,246 charging ports.
Under the new plan, automakers will need to earn a minimum number of credits or they could face fines — and one way to earn credits is to install more charging stations.
Guilbeault said a combination of private and public funding will build out the network.
"It's not happening tomorrow," he said. "It will happen progressively between now and 2035, and we have time to deploy the infrastructure."
What if I live somewhere cold?
In an effort to address complaints that EVs are impractical in remote and northern areas, where cold conditions can cut the efficiency of batteries, plug-in hybrids with an all-electric range of 80 kilometres or more will remain eligible for sale in 2035 and beyond.
Earlier this year, Seattle-based firm Recurrent measured range loss in EVs at temperatures between –7 C and –1 C, and found 18 popular models had an average of 70 per cent of their range in freezing conditions, though there was a wide discrepancy depending on the vehicle.
Recurrent stresses that temporary range loss is not permanent battery damage, and when the temperature warms, the maximum range returns. Drivers can compensate for range loss by pre-heating their vehicles before they leave and by buying vehicles with heat pumps.
The government insists that concerns about EV performance in cold weather are overblown, noting that electric vehicles dominate the current sales market in Norway.
"Advancements in battery technology have improved cold-weather performance and increased the range of many currently available models to over 400 kilometres, representing a substantial improvement from earlier models," Tuesday's announcement said.
Morning North5:37Electric vehicles vs the cold - misconceptions
What if I live in an apartment or condo?
Most rental apartments don't currently come with the electric capacity to charge electric vehicles in-house. While some condo owners have started to push for charging stations to be installed in their buildings, it can be difficult to persuade all residents and a condo board due to high installation costs and resistance from corporate landlords.
There are different incentives and regulations country-wide for new builds to include varying numbers of EV charging stations. The federal government is providing some funding to install EV chargers in multi-dwelling builds. It's also trying to make changes to the Canadian Electrical Code so that new residential buildings will be EV-ready.
Guilbeault said the number of vehicle owners who aren't able to charge at home is about 20 per cent.
"You will have reserve parking space — I see it in my neighbourhood — reserve parking space for electric vehicles where people can charge overnight with charging stations that are deployed by municipalities," he said.
"More and more it's going to be easier to charge an electric vehicle than it is today."
What purchase incentives will there be?
The federal government offers a $5,000 rebate for fully electric vehicles and $2,500 for hybrids within certain price points. Quebec, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces also have provincial rebates that range from $500 to $8,000 depending on certain conditions.
Guilbeault said all provinces should get "on board" with the EV plans, singling out Ontario as one of the laggards.
He said the federal government would stick to its $5,000 rebate for now.
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