British Columbia is set to reduce its aggressive mandates for zero-emission vehicles. It is a reality check prompted by shrinking sales, but it offers a chance to rethink the use of a blunt instrument designed to get consumers to change their driving habits by denying them choice.
“The current targets... are no longer realistic,” conceded B.C.’s Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix at a news conference on Nov. 18. By 2030, 90 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales in B.C. are supposed to be zero-emission, rising to 100 per cent by 2035.
The energy minister will introduce amendments to change those targets in the spring 2026 legislative session – too late for consumers and manufacturers who are still bound by next year’s targets. Already, dealership lots are filling up with their 2026 models, shaped by a requirement that remains in place for manufacturers to meet 26 per cent zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales quotas for the coming year. Full electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are counted; other hybrids are not.
Worry not, Mr. Dix says, the sector is on track to hit its targets for 2026 anyway. That’s despite a significant drop in demand for Teslas, and the withdrawal this year of both provincial and federal rebates that helped take sting out of the higher cost of buying a new electric vehicle.
There is some creative accounting attached to his claim, because industry is meeting the targets through a system of sales and credits that are either banked from previous years when the targets were lower, or purchased from other dealers like Tesla who have exceeded requirements. Government officials declined to say just how much money has gone into purchasing credits.
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In the second quarter of 2025 – the most recent figures available – battery electric vehicles made up almost 10 per cent of total light duty vehicle sales in B.C., according to S&P Global Mobility. Importantly, the agency notes that the market share of EVs has been declining each quarter for a year.
The sales data show what British Columbians want: they are opting for (non plug-in) hybrids in much higher numbers. B.C. is the hybrid capital of the country, according to the S&P analysis. “Hybrids are emerging as the preferred transitional technology for the risk-averse majority.”
Mr. Dix hasn’t said what the new targets will be. British Columbia is watching closely what Ottawa does next.
In September, Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended the federal electric-vehicle mandate for the current 2026 model year and announcing a 60-day review of the policy. No decisions from that review have been announced, and B.C. will have to start drafting its amendments soon, with or without a federal plan.
Under the federal Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, at least 20 per cent of new vehicle sales must be electric or plug-in hybrids, rising to 100 per cent by 2035.
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The provincial law currently has more ambitious targets than Ottawa’s. Even though it has slowed, EV adoption in B.C. is second only to Quebec. Both provinces have pushed EVs through policy, but they also have a built-in advantage, with the lowest electricity rates in the country. The savings help offset the higher cost of buying an EV.
Mr. Dix says he will amend the B.C. Zero-Emission Vehicles Act (ZEV Act) in a way that maintains the zero-emission vehicle standard, but recalibrates the target. He hopes to be guided by Ottawa’s revised national standards, which is reasonable. A single, national framework makes sense, rather than having different rules in B.C., Quebec and the rest of Canada.
But Mr. Dix is wedded to a sales mandate in some form because he is convinced that limiting consumer choice is helping British Columbians make the shift to ZEVs.
He needs to reconsider. The goal, surely, is to reduce emissions from transportation rather than to simply reward automakers – mostly non-Canadian – for making EVs. B.C. is already doing many things right, and recent regulatory changes move in the right direction. The province is now rewarding manufacturers for providing their own EV rebates and other incentives such as home charging kits.
B.C. and Ottawa can help risk-averse consumers make the switch by doing more to make EV ownership attractive. Distorting the market through limiting choice is the wrong strategy. Both Ottawa and the province need to shift gears.