What the major parties in the Ontario election have to say on EVs

With gas prices soaring and the election campaign heating up, here is what the four major political parties in June’s Ontario election have to say on the matter of electric vehicles (EVs).

Progressive Conservatives

There are no indications that the Progressive Conservatives are thinking about changing their decision to scrap provincial rebates for EVs and charging station purchases. Instead, the party is focusing on bringing EV manufacturing to the province. Investments include a new EV battery factory in Windsor run by Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions and a deal with Ford to build EVs at the Oakville Assembly Plant. The Ford government also provided investment to General Motors to upgrade plants in Oshawa and Ingersoll.

Liberals

The Liberals are proposing a large slate of EV and charging station rebates. The party is proposing a rebate on EVs up to $8,000, which would be on top of the federal rebate of $5,000. They would also offer a rebate of up to $1,500 for charging station purchases. These rebates would be vehicle purchases up to $65,000. They would also mandate 60 per cent of new passenger sales to be zero-emission by 2030. Then by 2035, all passenger vehicle sales would be zero-emission.

New Democrats

The New Democrats are spinning up the Liberal proposal and are offering a rebate of up to $10,000 for zero-emissions vehicles, excluding luxury vehicles. They also want to focus on vehicles made in Ontario, but their platform does not elaborate further on that. The New Democrats would also have a goal of 100 per cent of new passenger vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2035. In addition, they would transition the provincial government’s fleet to all-electric by 2030.

Greens

The Greens have the most extensive list of platform ideas on zero-emission vehicles. The party offers cash incentives of up to $10,000 for EV purchases. In addition, it also proposes a rebate of up to $1,000 for electric bikes or used EVs. The Greens would also phase out new car sales of gas or diesel vehicles by 2030. Additionally, the Greens are looking at a wide range of EV charging infrastructure changes and investments. Finally, they aim to phase out all gasoline and diesel vehicle sales by 2045.