Electric vehicles: Abolishing the quotas would have been better than watering them down, says the MEI

Montreal, February 5, 2026 – The federal government’s announcement modifying the electric vehicle sales quotas to replace them with reduced emissions quotas lacks realism, says an MEI researcher.

“Replacing one unrealistic target with another unrealistic target just kicks the problem down the road,” says Gabriel Giguère, senior policy analyst at the MEI. “Consumers are just not as enthusiastic as Ottawa had hoped they would be, nor is our infrastructure ready to deal with the increased electricity demand.”

Earlier this morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he was modifying the mandate that gradually banned the sale of conventional vehicles by 2035. He will instead introduce an equivalent emissions standard aiming for 75 per cent of new vehicles sold in 2035 to be electric.

It is estimated that Canada would need 680,000 public charging ports by 2040 to meet the needs created by the electrification of the vehicle fleet.

Meeting this target would require the installation of nearly 40,000 new ports every year, according to the MEI. This represents a total cost of $18 billion, much more than the $1.5-billion fund announced by Ottawa today.

Moreover, it is estimated that upgrading electricity production and transport facilities in order to respond to this new demand would cost up to $294 billion.

“Considering the magnitude of the expenditures involved, and the size of the federal deficit, the Carney government should stop squandering Canadians’ money and reviving these subsidy programs,” concludes Mr. Giguère. “Presenting a watered-down version of a bad public policy doesn’t make it a good public policy, and the federal government should know this.”

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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