PoliticsCanada’s EV mandate will be paused as the government conducts a 60-day review of the policy, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday.Move comes as industry has struggled under U.S. tariffsCatharine Tunney · CBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 10:12 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoThe auto industry has been lobbying for the elimination of the Liberal government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. (Jane Robertson/CBC)Prime Minister Mark Carney is delaying a plan to force automakers to hit minimum sales levels for electric vehicles.The move is part of a series of measures the government announced Friday to help the sectors most affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.The EV mandate will be paused as the government conducts a 60-day review of the policy, and will be waived for 2026 models.Sources told CBC News that the review will look at the entire mandate and next steps.”We have an auto sector which, because of the massive change in U.S. policy, is under extreme pressure. We recognize that,” Carney said at a news conference in Mississauga, Ont. “They’ve got enough on their plate right now. So we’re taking that off.”The government is using the review as part of broader look at all the government’s climate measures, he added.WATCH | EV mandate paused because automakers have ‘enough on their plate,’ Carney saysEV mandate paused because automakers have ‘enough on their plate,’ Carney says Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that 2026 models would be waived from the EV sales mandate. Carney said the auto industry is struggling due to the trade war, and that his government is rolling out measures to helpThe pause represents another shift away from Carney’s predecessor’s climate agenda. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau brought in the electric vehicle availability standard, otherwise known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. It establishes a series of escalating light-duty vehicle sales targets for auto manufacturers and importers, starting at 20 per cent in 2026 and reaching 100 per cent in 2035. Automakers have been lobbying the Liberal government to scrap the mandate, arguing it will cripple their companies and put thousands of jobs at risk. The mandate has also come under political pressure, notably from the Conservatives who, in a fundraising email, accused the “radical Liberals” of planning to make gas-powered vehicles “illegal” and “force” people to buy “expensive” EVs.Sources confirmed the move to CBC News Friday morning. The EV mandate review was previously reported by CTV News and Bloomberg News.Auto industry applauds moveGroups representing the automotive industry applauded the move.Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, called it “an important first step.””The EV mandate imposes unsustainable costs on auto manufacturers, putting at risk Canadian jobs and investment in this critical sector of the economy,” he said in a statement. “A full repeal of the regulation is the most effective way to provide immediate relief to the industry and keep it competitive.”Global Automakers of Canada president David Adams said the group is “pleased that the federal government has recognized that consumer adoption of electric vehicles is not where either government nor industry had anticipated it would be a few short years ago. “Our members are fully committed to the transition of their product portfolios to electrified transportation and this is the future of our sector, however that transition can only happen as quickly as consumers are willing to move.”WATCH | Carney says Canada ‘at the start’ of auto sector restructuringCarney says Canada ‘at the start’ of auto sector restructuring when asked about China EV tariffsPrime Minister Mark Carney said his government is taking a series of measures to increase Canada’s ‘climate competitiveness’ across the economy, and that includes a broad ‘restructuring’ of the auto sector. He said it’s too early to say if tariffs on Chinese EVs would be removed.However, Greenpeace Canada was quick to criticize the EV mandate delay.”What was the point of electing Mark Carney when we get Pierre Poilievre’s climate policy?” said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with the activist group.”We should be aligning with Europe, which is doubling down on renewable energy and electric vehicles, rather than bowing before Trump’s attack on people and planet.” Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, called the announcement a “missed opportunity” and said it creates new uncertainty and “undermines smart, low-cost climate policy in a critical sector.”The government’s review, he added, must be swift and evidence-based.Carney’s first move after being sworn in was to cancel the consumer carbon price — one of the Trudeau government’s flagship climate policies, which the former central banker had once endorsed.Some Liberal MPs said they plan to raise climate issues when the caucus meets in Edmonton next week. The effort comes as some have quietly expressed concern that Carney, once the UN special envoy on climate action and finance, has relegated green initiatives to the background since coming to power. New rebate?The passage of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” hit the U.S. ZEV market, which cancels the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit by the end of this month. Canada had its own ZEV rebate, but it was paused in January after running out of funding. That program offered up to $5,000 toward the purchase of a new electric car and up to $2,500 on the purchase of a new plug-in hybrid. Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin has suggested the federal government will bring back a consumer rebate program to help make electric vehicles more affordable.ABOUT THE AUTHORCatharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC’s Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at catharine.tunney@cbc.ca With files from David Cochrane and Aaron Wherry
Canada delaying plan to force automakers to hit EVs sales targets
