Canadians burning through federal EV rebate fund like it’s fossil fuel

It looks like Canadians love the federal EV rebate as a new report from Transport Canada reveals that 75 percent of the budget has already been used up.

Back in May of 2019, the federal government launched a $5,000 CAD buying incentive to help Canadians afford electric vehicles. When the program started, it had a budget of $300 million CAD, but all that’s left now is somewhere around $75 million, according to the report.

While it’s good news that Canadians are buying so many electric vehicles, it’s bad that 75 percent of the program’s budget is already used up only 15 months into the three-year program. The report also mentions that 53,510 drivers have taken a piece of the $300 million.

Advocates are working to lobby the government so that more money is loaded into the fund.

What’s most interesting is that 86 percent of the EV sales are from Quebec and B.C., which is likely because those provinces also offer provincial EV rebates. This means that people from those provinces can double up on incentives, making electric vehicles much cheaper.

Twelve percent of the remaining EV sales come from Ontario, and then the other two percent is spread across the rest of the country. Notably, Ontario cut its old EV rebate, which ranged from $5,000 to $18,000, which has been noted to be the cause of the decline of electric car sales in the province.

According to the report, the federal government is also being lobbied to include used cars and more expensive models. As of now, used vehicles don’t apply, and the car you want to drive must have a base cost of $55,000 or less to apply.

Overall, it’s good that many people across Canada are taking advantage of the EV rebate. Still, the fact that Quebec and B.C. are so far ahead of the rest of the country goes to show how far provincial EV rebates go when it comes to convincing drivers to buy electric vehicles.

Source: The Canadian Press