FLETCHER: Warning lights flashing on BC’s electric vehicle plan

Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.Public vehicle charging stations are still popping up on urban BC streets, as sales of electric vehicles continue to decline with the cancellation of new-vehicle rebates up to $4,000.Rebates and subsidies for electric vehicles were being financed by the retail carbon tax, pioneered in BC and then imposed across the country by jet-set climate warrior Justin Trudeau. The federal zero-emission vehicle program ran out of money and was abruptly halted last January.BC first offered electric vehicle subsidies in 2011, three years after launching its carbon tax on fuels. It pulled the plug on the program this past May, as Premier David Eby’s government matched Prime Minister Mark Carney’s abrupt cancellation of the federal carbon tax and lost billions in revenue..OLDCORN: Floor-crossing traitor MPs must face a byelection every time — no loopholes, no excuses.Even before that, BC’s electric-powered share of new vehicle sales was declining. It now sits at just under ten percent in BC, still one of the highest in the country but only half of what car dealerships were mandated to sell starting next year.BC Energy Minister Adrian Dix had a head-on collision with reality in mid-November, announcing that BC’s electric vehicle mandates are “no longer realistic.” Those are 20% of new sales for the 2026 model year, 90% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.Were they ever realistic? Clearly they were not, given that BC lacks the thousands of additional charging stations that would be required, and the electricity to run them..The enforcement mechanism was to fine car dealerships $20,000 for each vehicle they failed to sell up to the arbitrary target. The authoritarian style reminds me of Chairman Mao ordering peasants to take a Great Leap Forward by setting up little iron smelters in their backyards to meet a centrally planned production quota.With vehicle makers and dealers shouting loudly that there is no way in the world they can meet the targets, Prime Minister Mark Carney also bumped into reality. In September, he announced he was suspending the federal Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, also at 20% of new sales for 2026 and rising to 100% by 2035.The crack federal bureaucracy was ordered to conduct a 60-day review of the policy. The 60 days were up in early November, and a senior federal official told MPs at that time that the results would be released this winter, maybe even by the end of 2025. That’s cold comfort for car dealers who are already taking delivery of 2026 models, not knowing what the latest Maoist target might be..BROOKS: Behind the scenes of the BC Conservatives' leadership debacle.In BC, Dix has indicated that he will be introducing amendments to the zero-emission vehicle mandate in the spring session of the legislature. That means changes could be in effect by March, by which time dealers would normally be mostly stocked up with 2026 models.Carney’s “pause” was of course couched in the language of the political moment, that Canada’s auto industry is being battered by Donald Trump’s tariffs and needs a break. It’s true, Trump’s tariff program is designed to force vehicle makers to move production back to the US..But here’s the problem. Canada doesn’t make any fully electric cars, so any mandate requiring a minimum sales quota can only help foreign producers like Tesla increase market share. Canada has grandiose plans to launch a massively subsidized electric vehicle battery industry, but that’s not going too well either.BC Hydro is pressing ahead with the takeover of existing vehicle charging stations and has completed 30 more electric vehicle charging stations at rest areas, ferry landings, and visitor centres around the province. These will be “free to use,” but others being taken over by BC Hydro will charge a fee..OLDCORN: ‘Singh Hortons’ has become a national disgrace, no longer ‘Canada’s coffee shop’.BC Hydro is also pleading with its residential customers to join its “Peak Saver” challenge program. Participants will receive an email notifying them of a peak demand event (like everyone getting home from work and making dinner?). If they can somehow reduce their electricity consumption by 20% during the peak period, which can last up to four hours, they can earn up to a $3 discount on their electricity bill.These are the actions of a utility that has been forced to import substantial power from Alberta and the US in recent years and which has a backlog of industrial electricity applications that it can’t meet.How does a huge increase in electric vehicle use fit with this situation?Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.tomfletcherbc@gmail.comX: @tomfletcherbc