Minister of the Environment Jim PrenticeSean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Cars will use less gas and Quebec is claiming the credit after the Harper government locked its new fuel-efficiency standards to those set by the United States.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Thursday the new rules will improve the average fuel efficiency of automobiles and light trucks sold in Canada by 25 per cent in 2016, compared to 2008 levels.
In the U.S., the fuel efficiency gains will be 40 per cent higher than in Canada because Americans buy larger and more gas-guzzling vehicles.
Cars will cost more - some estimate more than $1,000 - as industry adds new features to cut gasoline consumption. Mr. Prentice said lower fuel bills will pay for the higher upfront costs in as little as 18 months.
The new regulations mark a complete U-turn for the Harper government. Just a few months ago, the federal Environment Minister slammed the Quebec government for "folly" in adopting the ambitious automobile emission standards that were first proposed by California.
Yesterday, both California and Quebec said they would adopt the new "continental rules" that so closely follow their own.
"We showed leadership …and now Ottawa is forced to recognize the soundness of Quebec's position," said Quebec Environment Minister Line Beauchamp.
Mr. Prentice signalled that Ottawa and Washington will move this spring to propose fuel economy standards for larger trucks, which represent the fastest growing source of transportation emissions. Ultimately, the government will also regulate emissions from trains, ships and commercial airliners.
As with automobiles, it appears that those decisions will be made in Washington,
Ottawa says the transportation sector accounts for 25 per cent of Canada's GHG emissions, with passenger vehicles accounting for half of that total.
"Reducing emissions from those vehicles will take us a long way to meeting our climate-change goals," the minister said.
The new U.S.-Canadian emissions standards commence for the 2011 model year and will phase in improvements through 2016. Auto makers can buy and sell emission credits so that companies that go further than required can earn revenue from the laggards.
Car companies expect to adopt new technology - from variable drive transmissions to lighter weight material - to meet the standards, but will also boost their offerings of hybrid and electric vehicles to improve the average mileage of the fleet of cars and light trucks they sell.
The manufacturers applauded the continental approach.
"This announcement is quite welcome news," said David Mondragon, chief executive of Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd., who attended Mr. Prentice's announcement at an Ottawa-area Ford dealership.
"Our hope is that this program will avoid a patchwork of competing provincial and federal regulations that would have led to unnecessary duplication, market disruption and increased compliance costs for manufacturers."
With reports from Rhéal Séguin in Quebec and Greg Keenan in Toronto