British Columbians Push Back Against EV Mandates as Sales Slide
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New public opinion research by Ipsos, conducted on behalf of the Energy Futures Institute, reveals growing public dissatisfaction with British Columbia’s legislated electric vehicle (EV) sales mandates, raising more questions as to whether they are practical or achievable—especially as they apply to vehicles arriving now on dealers’ lots.
An Ipsos poll of 801 British Columbians conducted from July 31 to August 6 shows:
- 56% of British Columbians oppose the government’s EV sales mandates, while only 34% support them. This gap has grown by 7 percentage points since last year (53% opposed and 38% support in Aug 2024). Those strongly opposed to the mandates outnumber those strongly in favour by more than a 3-1 ratio (36% versus 10%).
- Support is highest among younger residents but drops sharply among older British Columbians and those in the Southern Interior and Northern regions.
- 76% of residents want hybrid vehicles to count toward EV targets (they currently do not), and 63% want EV rebates reinstated (BC’s rebates ended in May, and federal rebates ran out of funding in January).
- Affordability and practicality remain the biggest hurdles, with 64% citing high purchase prices, 46% citing limited driving range, and 43% citing a lack of charging infrastructure as reasons for not purchasing an EV.
Under BC’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Act, manufacturers must ensure that for the 2026 model-year (MY) vehicles (which are arriving now on dealer’s lots), 26% of new light-duty vehicles sold are electric, increasing to 90% by MY 2030, and 100% by MY 2035. As noted, conventional hybrids do not count towards the required percentage. At the federal level, Canada’s nationwide ZEV mandate stipulates 20% electric vehicles sales by MY 2026, 60% by MY 2030, and 100% by MY 2035.
Meanwhile, a BC government presentation obtained by Energy Futures and released earlier this summer concedes that EV adoption is slowing. Sales of new electric vehicles in the province, including plug-in hybrids, dropped to just 15.3% of total vehicle sales in April 2025, down from 22% in 2024. They slid further to about 13% in May and June, 2025.
Barry Penner, KC, Chair of the Energy Futures Institute and a former B.C. Minister of Environment and Attorney General, said the findings point to a major disconnect between government mandates and consumer reality.
“It’s been clear for some time that BC’s EV mandates are unrealistic,” said Penner. “The government’s own documents show EV sales are declining—just as the EV mandates kick in. British Columbians are saying loud and clear that they want affordability, flexibility and choice—not punitive mandates that punish families who choose hybrids, many of which, like the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid, are built right here in Canada.”
Penner noted that while EV technology is improving and has an important role in the future of transportation, rigid sales mandates could backfire.
“The EV mandates contradict the ‘elbows up’ calls from Premier Eby and Prime Minister Carney for consumers to support Canadian-made products and jobs, because no electric passenger vehicles are currently built in Canada. Instead, these mandates will force consumers to buy imported EVs or push automakers to purchase compliance credits from companies like Tesla—enriching U.S. billionaires such as Elon Musk, who has supported Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs against Canada. At the same time, British Columbia has been relying on imported electricity in recent years for up to one quarter of our electricity supply – sending more dollars south of the border. It’s time to recognize what the public already
knows: mandates need to be rethought, not forced.”
In March, Energy Futures Institute released a report Are EV Mandates and Market Reality on a Collision Course? prepared by BCIT business instructor Jerome Gessaroli, which noted a lack of public charging infrastructure and how the higher upfront cost of EVs, coupled with disparities in charging accessibility, disproportionately impacts lower-income households and renters. Mr. Gessaroli went on to recommend that inflexible model-year ZEV sales quotas be replaced with flexible, emissions-based standards that allow automakers to meet targets via a broader array of low- and zero-emission technologies—including hybrids—and are based on real-world adoption trends and infrastructure readiness.
“It’s important not to put the cart in front of the horse, by limiting vehicle choice even before the necessary charging and other electrical infrastructure is in place to accommodate this change in transportation technology,” Penner concluded.
The Ipsos survey (Majority of BC Residents Oppose Planned New-Car EV Sales Mandate | Ipsos) has a credibility interval of ±4.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Media Contact
Simon Turner, ph. (672) 833-3775
simon@resourceworks.com
Background:
Barry Penner, KC served as BC’s Minister of Environment, Minister of Aboriginal Relations & Attorney
General during his four terms as a MLA from 1996 to 2012. As Minister of Environment, Penner introduced BC’s first climate action plan which included North America’s first revenue-neutral carbon tax. Penner was named Chair for the Energy Futures Institute in December 2023.
The Energy Futures Institute is a Resource Works-sponsored project bringing a fresh perspective to discussions surrounding the future of energy in British Columbia.
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