Blandine Sebileau
Analyst, Sustainable Mobility
Published on
As wildfires and air pollution tighten their grip on Canadians, the federal government has officially scrapped regulations requiring automakers to expand the availability of electric vehicles across the country. In doing so, Mark Carney is sacrificing one of the most effective policies for cleaning up our air, lowering the cost of living and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation—the country’s second-largest emitting sector.
According to the Canadian government’s own analysis, this reversal will impose a net cost of $90 billion on society by 2050, including $54 billion in additional gasoline costs borne by drivers. This is on top of $92 billion in health costs associated with air pollution [1].
Consider this: nearly 5,000 wildfires burned four million hectares across the country this summer [2], forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and blanketing entire cities in smoke. And that does not include the toll of air pollution. Health Canada already attributes approximately 15,000 premature deaths annually in Canada to air pollution, including nearly 4,000 in Quebec [3]. These tragic events should be an opportunity to address their causes and assume our shared responsibilities. Instead, the government has once again chosen to bow to powerful industries—this time, the automotive sector, which continues to demand special treatment to maximize its profits and delay its transition to electric vehicles.
For the thousands of families forced from their homes, those suffering personal harm or property damage, and those paying more and more to get around, further backtracking is no longer acceptable.
Dismantling without a Plan B
The government’s retreat extends beyond this regulation. Abandoning electric vehicle sales targets is part of a series of increasingly difficult-to-justify reversals in both Quebec and Canada. Unapologetically putting the brakes on electrification, the government has also cancelled its electric vehicle charging infrastructure program before achieving even 70% of its own target. Worse still, it has done so without delivering the alternative it promised in February: stricter emissions standards.
With nearly 100 countries reaching record electric vehicle sales [4], Canadian households are also looking for practical ways to fight the climate crisis and lower their transportation costs. In the face of suffocating gasoline price volatility, Canada must choose families over automakers by restoring its strategy—or replacing it as soon as possible with measures at least as ambitious as those it abandoned.
Sacrificing the energy transition to protect the profit margins of immensely wealthy multinational corporations already earning billions is an irresponsible strategy. It reflects political blindness—and Canadians are paying the price.
Mark Carney is playing with fire. He must do better.
[1] The Atmospheric Fund (2026).
[2] Public Safety Canada (2026).
[3] Health Canada (2021).
[4] International Energy Agency (2026).
Other signatories:
- Andréanne Brazeau, Senior Policy Analyst, David Suzuki Foundation
- Sam Hersh, Clean Transportation Program Manager, Environmental Defence
