B.C. has slashed its EV targets for 2035, and it sounds like the Province won’t be bringing back rebates anytime soon, maybe never.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has now written a scathing letter to Premier David Eby, claiming that he was misleading the public when suggesting that the targets were realistic.
In a release earlier this week from the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions, it was revealed that legislative changes are underway “to strengthen B.C.’s commitment to cleaner transportation.”
Those changes are expected in Spring 2026.
Previously, B.C. had a mandate that by 2035, every vehicle sold in the province would be zero-emission.
“Any changes to targets – including both the 2030 and 2035 targets – will be informed by the outcomes of the federal review of national EV plans and targets, the CleanBC review, and ongoing consultations with consumers and industry,” the ministry told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“B.C. currently leads Canada in EV targets, and we are proud to be a North American leader in EV adoption, with more than 210,000 ZEVs on provincial roads,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, in a statement earlier this week. “We have more than 7,000 public charging stations throughout the province and are on track to meet our target of 10,000 by 2030.”
In the spring of this year, B.C. announced that it was “pausing” rebates.
“The Province will be pausing the program to consider next steps in view of progress to date and the end of the federal government’s electric-vehicle rebates in January 2025,” the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions said in a statement earlier this year.
The Go Electric Passenger Vehicle Rebate Program was paused on May 15, 2025.
Daily Hive Urbanized asked the ministry about some of the changes and target amendments.
“In the current climate, it’s vital for B.C. and Canada to be aligned, and it’s our strong view that there should be one clear, harmonized target for the country,” the ministry said.
It also said that the EV rebates were never meant to be permanent, adding that the rebates were an effective means to boost EV adoption in the province. It also sounds like the Province is suggesting that rebates should be made available by the federal government as the ministry switches its focus to supporting EV infrastructure.
“It is our view that the federal government should support Canadians who are interested in making the switch to electric by making rebates available. What we are focused on is building out a network of charging stations for consumers and providing other supports to ensure people can meet the real challenges of affording an EV,” the ministry says.
The B.C. Conservatives are also joining the conversation, asking Eby to drop all mandates immediately.
“For years, your government misled the public that EV targets of 90 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035 were realistic, despite soaring costs, incomplete charging infrastructure and families struggling to buy expensive and inconvenient electric vehicles during an unprecedented affordability crisis,” Rustad said in a letter.
“Conservatives are ready to pass legislation in a single day to scrap all provincial EV targets, mandates and all associated requirements to restore full consumer choice for British Columbians.”
“Rustad says the government’s recent retreat from its 2035 electric vehicle mandate proves the policy has collapsed under its own weight. But he adds that partial adjustments do not fix the problem or reverse the affordability pressures created by the NDP’s push toward mandated adoption,” a statement from the Conservatives added.
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