Dan McTeague is President of Canadians for Affordable Energy.In what may be the least shocking political news of the year, this past Friday the Carney government announced a twelve month pause to the Electric Vehicle (EV) mandate, which had been set to go into effect this coming January. (Or, as they put it in their obnoxious public policy-speak, they plan to “give the auto sector flexibility by waiving 2026 model vehicles from Electric Vehicle Availability Standard requirements.”)Well, of course they did! As I’ve pointed out, time and time again, the Liberal’s EV mandate isn’t just a gross violation of our freedom that will make our lives harder and more expensive. It is also completely and utterly unworkable!.DUCKWORTH: Think big or get left behind: The West’s moment to redefine its destiny.Our country is lacking the charging infrastructure to support an entirely electric fleet of vehicles, and we aren’t building chargers anywhere near fast enough to close that gap. We’re also in a period of serious electric grid insecurity, largely the result of the Net-Zero nuttiness and anti-oil and gas policies enacted by our ruling class over the past decade or more. Where exactly do they think they’re going to get the electricity to power the millions of battery-powered cars they want to be plugged in every night? Wind turbines and solar panels? Give me a break!And then there’s the fact that we live in an extremely large and famously cold country, and EVs are even less reliable than usual in the cold. It’s enough to make you wonder how familiar the Trudeau/Carney Liberals even are with Canada!.Of course, they didn’t say any of these things in their announcement. They did try and push off some of the blame on the necessity of helping out the auto industry, which has been “impacted by US tariffs and trade disruptions.” And there is a kernel of truth in this. The Canadian auto industry, which was happy to accept tens of billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies and other forms of investment to produce EVs in Canada, certainly has been impacted by recent and unexpected changes in American policy. Tariffs are certainly one of those..EDITORIAL: Statehood for Palestine? Why premature recognition would be a grave mistake.But just as significant has been the Trump Administration’s decision to drop Joe Biden’s backdoor EV mandates.Faced with the reality that Americans wouldn’t be forced to buy EVs, automakers began changing course, delaying, or canceling EV production at plants across Ontario. And faced with potential fines for not staying on track to hit the mandate’s EV sales targets — which, once again, were meant to go into effect four months from now — they’ve started to voice their problems with the mandate.So, for instance, Brian Kingston, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association CEO, came out of a meeting with the prime minister over the summer, saying, “If we are going to hit the 2026 mandated target of 20% EV sales, you would have to grow Zero-Emission-Vehicle (ZEV) sales by 180,000 units.”.Keep in mind that MacLean’s reported earlier this year that, “to date, only 40,000 EVs have been built in Canada.” The mandate was forcing them to quadruple their total EV output in a matter of months.He added, “There is simply no way that that can occur on such a short timeline, given all of the current market forces at play.”This, more than any other factor, is likely what convinced Mark Carney to push off the mandate by one year. But the fact that he did so, rather than cancel it full stop, suggests that he still believes that somehow, given just a bit more time, he can make it work.Spoiler alert: He can’t..None of the factors that make the EV mandate bad policy will be appreciably different on January 1, 2027.Some of them will likely be worse. With our debt levels going through the roof, we will be less able than ever to subsidize a failing EV industry. And the Canadian automotive industry is likely to be in worse shape than it’s in now. General Motors just announced that they’re cutting the third shift at their plant in Oshawa, laying off 250 workers. Where will that happen next?.MINDERHOUD: When conservatives concede the classroom to gender identity warriors.Delaying the EV mandate merely fuels uncertainty for consumers and car dealerships, while sending mixed messages to auto manufacturers and parts companies who serve them, exacerbating all of these problems.Thus far, magical thinking has stopped you from pulling the plug on this EV fantasy, Mr. Carney. We’re all hoping you wake up to reality before it’s too late.Dan McTeague is President of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
