Pierre Poilievre stated in a radio interview on Tuesday that a Conservative cabinet would repeal electric car mandates, calling them a burden on lower-income individuals.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Poilievre commented before the cabinet's release of a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement on Wednesday, which details the costs associated with mandating drivers to purchase electric vehicles.“The command and control, Draconian approach of Justin Trudeau is going to be extremely expensive, particularly for low-income families,” said Poilievre. “They have no idea how people are going to pay for it.”Poilievre made the comment during an interview on the On Point with Alex Pearson show on Radio CFIQ in Toronto.“Would you keep these regulations?” asked Pierson. “No, because this is a tax on the poor,” replied Poilievre.Cabinet's Electric Vehicle Availability Standard prohibits the sale of new gas and diesel vehicles, except for police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks, by 2035.The department of environment predicts that the measure will result in a savings of 28 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.“Of course, if these cars were affordable, you wouldn’t need a mandate,” said Poilievre. “People would be buying them. But they’re not affordable except for the very wealthy.”“What is going to happen is working-class people, that waitress who needs to buy that Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic to get to her job or the barber who needs to buy a modest gas-powered sedan or the working class guy who needs a pick-up truck, is going to be forced to pay $20,000 or $30,000 more for an electric version that may or may not work in cold weather and driving long distances,” said Poilievre.“Would you cancel these regulations?” asked Pierson. “Yes,” replied Poilievre. “I think what we need are smart regulations to improve fuel efficiency gradually, year after year. That will save money for consumers while protecting the environment, and over time, we get to a point where we have close to zero emissions in our automobiles through various types of technology.”The department of environment is expected to release final regulations regarding the electric car mandate on Wednesday. These regulations are expected to include a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, providing information about the associated costs.On Tuesday, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said that he expected “by the end of the decade at the latest, the purchase price of gas-powered and electric cars will be about the same.”“What if electric vehicles don’t reach price parity with gas vehicles by 2035?” asked a reporter. “The price is coming down,” replied Guilbeault.“Why should manufacturers buy into this program if there really is no guarantee the program will survive past the next election?” asked a reporter. “The only two guarantees are taxes and death,” replied Guilbeault.The Commons Environment committee in a 2020 report The Road Ahead: Encouraging the Production and Purchase of Zero Emission Vehicles in Canada said the costs of electrics were prohibitive.The committee referenced pre-pandemic figures from Toyota Canada, showing that zero-emission vehicles had an average cost of $56,000 before factoring in taxpayers' rebates, in contrast to a conventional sedan's $28,000 average price.According to the department of natural resources in-house research from 2022, 66% of Canadians had never ridden in an electric car.“About one in ten indicated they would only buy a zero-emission vehicle if the price were lower than an equivalent conventional vehicle,” said the research Canadians’ Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes Related to Zero Emission Vehicles.
