British Columbians are increasingly souring on federal and provincial electric vehicle (EV) mandates, a new poll suggests.
The Ipsos poll, commissioned by the Energy Futures Institute, found that 56 per cent of respondents opposed EV mandates, up three points from last year, while just 34 per cent supported them.
“In British Columbia, we’ve gone on embarking on the most aggressive electric vehicle mandates in all of North America before we have the infrastructure to support it,” said Energy Futures Institute chair Barry Penner.
“And British Columbians are starting to wake up to that reality that, hey, you’re saying I have to buy an electric vehicle, even if I can’t afford it?”
British Columbia’s EV mandate requires at least 26 per cent of 2026 model year sales to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), rising to 90 per cent for 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
The Canadian Energy Regulator’s latest market snapshot shows ZEVs accounting for just 16.5 per cent of new registrations in 2024, down from nearly 23 per cent the year prior.
Support for the mandates was highest in Metro Vancouver (40 per cent) and among those aged 18-34 (47 per cent) and 35-54 (40 per cent).
Opposition was highest in the B.C. Interior and North (68 per cent) and among those aged over 55 (66 per cent).
According to the poll, price remains the biggest barrier dissuading people from buying a new EV, with costs cited by 64 per cent of respondents.
Forty-six per cent cited concerns about vehicle range, while 43 per cent cited lack of access to charging stations.
“Consumer interest is just not there at the moment for the reasons we’ve talked about. It’s concerns about cost, range, and where am I going to charge this thing. And it takes a while for people to get comfortable with technology,” Penner said.
The poll found strong support for allowing non-plug-in hybrids to count, at least partially, towards EV sales percentages (76 per cent) and for reinstating government rebates for new EV purchases (63 per cent).
Until this year, the federal government had offered a rebate of up to $5,000, while the B.C. government offered up to $4,000, subject to income levels, on the purchase of a new EV.
Penner said manufacturers can face a penalty of up to $20,000 per vehicle sold that exceed the gas-powered vehicle cap, which he argued will ultimately lead to retailers to simply reduce the supply of non-electric vehicles they bring to B.C.
Meanwhile, non-plug-in hybrids don’t qualify, he said.
“Popular vehicles like the RAV4 hybrid that’s actually manufactured in Canada will effectively be prohibited by this legislation …because it’s not good enough, it’s just a conventional hybrid, it’s not a fully electric vehicle,” he said.
“And by the way there are no all-electric passenger vehicles made in Canada. So again, these mandates will have the effect of sending money out of the country.”
British Columbia’s energy minister believes the mandate targets remain realistic.
“I think the companies and the dealers can deal with them, but I think we are working with them on it. They are big advocates for selling EVs, it’s their business,” he said.
At the same time, Dix said the New Democratic government remains open to making changes, and would have more to say about the policy in the fall.
“We’re signaling that we’re absolutely open to that, and we’re working with partners like the car dealers, but also environmental groups and many people how are passionate about these issues,” Dix said.
Penner believes that having vehicle emission regulations at a provincial level is inefficient given that the industry doesn’t work at a province-by-province level, and argued the issue should be handled by Ottawa.
He further argued that instead of setting hard caps for specific types of vehicles, the federal government should instead set emission targets for vehicles and let manufacturers figure out how to hit them.
“Set the goal and then step back and let competition and industry figure out how this happens and let consumers also play a role in deciding what technology they prefer to reduce those emissions,” he said.
“Instead of the heavy hand of government coming in and saying this is what you must purchase.”