British Columbia Premier David Eby defended the province’s electric-vehicle sales mandates after receiving a letter this week from Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Ford sent letters dated March 17 to Eby and Quebec Premier François Legault, urging both provinces to remove their electric-vehicle mandates in support of Ontario’s auto industry.
“Unfortunately, existing EV sales mandates in Canada are making our auto sector less competitive and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Canadian workers, particularly since the U.S. has rolled back its federal EV policies,” Ford said in the letters.
Ford told reporters Wednesday he wanted to see a “Team Canada” approach.
“It’s like me telling Premier Eby, ‘By the way, we aren’t buying your beautiful lumber anymore. You just keep it over there,’” Ford said. “We need to stick together as a country.”
Eby responded in a letter Friday, saying the EV sales targets are a tool for B.C. to mitigate the effects of U.S. tariffs.
He also said more families might want to buy an EV amid current high gas prices, which he said are driven in part by the war in Iran.
“Our targets help ensure consumers have access to a wider range of more affordable vehicles at a time when that matters most,” Eby said.
“I recognize the pressures facing Ontario’s auto workers, and I want to reiterate that British Columbia will continue to stand with you and with all provinces as we confront Donald Trump’s unjustified attacks on our economy,” he said.
The federal government said in February it was scrapping a mandate that would have required all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2035.
Ottawa also announced a stronger greenhouse gas emissions standard, saying it is expected to lead to 75 per cent of new vehicle sales being electric by 2035. It also set an “aspirational goal” of a 90 per cent adoption rate by 2040.
B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the province plans to align its sales targets with the federal government.
B.C. is expected to table legislative updates to its Zero-Emission Vehicles Act this spring.
Statistics Canada said last week that new registrations of zero-emission vehicles in B.C. fell by more than 21 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year. Across Canada, new registrations were down nearly 35 per cent.
