Doug goes electric
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Here’s a stat that surprised me: there are more people buying electric vehicles in Vancouver than in all of Ontario.
And before Vancouverites start feeling smug (okay, too late), part of the explanation for that gulf, as reporter Fatima Syed details in this new piece for The Narwhal, lies in cuts made by Doug Ford when he took office back in 2018: “It only benefitted millionaires who could afford Teslas,” the premier said as his government scrapped a program that gave buyers up to $14,000 if they purchased an electric vehicle.
It didn’t stop there: the government removed charging station requirements from Ontario’s building code and even literally tore up some public charging stations.
But now, the province is starting to see the electric light, thanks to a couple of utilities, a looming provincial election and, perhaps, a summertime confab between the premier and a billionaire auto tycoon.
Observers are welcoming the changes, which include plans to install more charging stations across the province and putting money down to help auto giants convert production plants to build electric models. There is, however, still a giant gap in the equation.
“Just because you build electric vehicles, doesn’t mean everyone will buy them,” Joanna Kyriazis, a senior policy adviser at Clean Energy Canada, told Fatima.
Kyriazis would love to see Ontario bring back buyer incentives, which exist in eight provinces and territories and have proven to be a huge, ahem, driver in getting people on board.
Buyer adoption could play a critical role in the fight against climate change: transportation is responsible for a third of Ontario’s emissions right now, and the province’s own calculations show even low electric vehicle adoption would account for 16 per cent of the province’s emissions reductions in 2030. (It’s probably worth noting that improving public transit, and not building new highways, would also help on the emissions front.)
Generating uptake of electric vehicles will require more than just putting in chargers: these cars need to be made affordable in the first place.
Take care and don’t forget to recharge,
Arik Ligeti
Director of audience
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