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Montréal, October 22, 2026 – Équiterre condemns the postponement until 2029 of tighter emissions standards for light-duty vehicles and the allocation of $2.5 billion in public funds to manufacturers of gasoline-powered vehicles. By abandoning requirements for cleaner vehicles while financially supporting manufacturers that are slow to embrace electrification, Ottawa is prolonging households’ dependence on petroleum products and jeopardizing their access to affordable electric vehicles.
This rollback runs counter to public opinion: according to a recent Léger-Équiterre poll, 43% of Canadians oppose abandoning electrification policies in response to the trade war, compared with just 32% who support doing so. It follows this summer’s abandonment of regulations requiring a minimum share of automakers’ sales to be zero-emission vehicles.
“The message to automotive giants is clear: you can delay electrification without consequence and still receive billions of dollars in public funds. Meanwhile, households remain at the mercy of rising prices at the pump. The government claims to be protecting our purchasing power, yet it is weakening the very rules that would help households lower their transportation bills,” says Blandine Sebileau, Sustainable Mobility Analyst at Équiterre.
Broken promises and rewards for laggards
Ottawa had committed to reviewing and tightening emissions standards as early as 2026. By postponing tighter standards until 2029, the government is giving automakers another reprieve at the expense of access to cleaner vehicles. The announced $2.5 billion must help accelerate the inevitable shift to electric vehicles, rather than reward those who are slow to commit to it.
“Public money must help move the transition forward. Every billion dollars given to automakers should come with clear requirements to make electric vehicles more accessible. Mark Carney must honour his commitments and tighten regulations now, with penalties that make delays costly for manufacturers rather than households,” emphasizes Blandine Sebileau.
Producing clean electricity must also help us move away from oil
Équiterre highlights the inconsistency between federal ambitions for clean electricity and this latest rollback on transportation electrification. Supporting projects such as the expansion of Churchill Falls must go hand in hand with measures that enable households to replace gasoline with that electricity.
Without binding requirements for automakers, Ottawa is giving up an essential tool for increasing the supply of electric vehicles and making prices more affordable. Équiterre calls on the government to stay the course on electrification: tighten standards starting in 2026, introduce penalties that deter delays, and tie public funding to measurable commitments from automakers.
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