The federal government wants to drop the rule that forces automakers to offer a rising share of zero-emission vehicles. The public comment window ends Thursday.
Canadians have until Thursday, October 29 to tell Ottawa what they think of scrapping the country's EV sales mandate. The proposed amendments, published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on August 15, 2026, would repeal the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard. The notice allows 75 days for comments to the Minister of the Environment, which runs out on October 29.
It's the part of Canada's light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas regulations that sets a minimum share of zero-emission vehicles each automaker must offer for sale: 20% for model year 2026, 60% for 2030 and 100% from 2035, according to the proposal's regulatory impact statement. It counts what automakers offer for sale, not what drivers buy.
Ottawa's own analysis puts the repeal's net societal cost at $90.3 billion from 2026 to 2050.
The proposed amendments would remove the ZEV sales requirements. The government says the existing fleet-average greenhouse gas standards stay, and that it intends to bring in stronger, Canada-specific emission standards to put the country on a path to 75% EV sales by 2035 and 90% by 2040, as set out in its automotive strategy. On October 21, Ottawa also said the fleet-average standard will stay at 2026 levels through 2029 (see our emissions freeze story).
The impact statement is blunt about the trade-off. It expects fewer zero-emission vehicles on the market and fewer bought in Canada than under the current rule. It estimates that buyers would avoid $57.6 billion in upfront vehicle and charger costs from 2026 to 2050, but forgo about $53.8 billion in fuel and maintenance savings. It puts forgone emission reductions at 326 Mt, valued at $94.2 billion in climate damages, for a net societal cost of $90.3 billion. It adds that stronger future standards could preserve about 145 Mt of those reductions.
The Gazette notice says any person may file comments with the Minister of the Environment within 75 days of its August 15, 2026 publication, and gives the contact details for doing so. Open federal consultations are also listed on the Canada Gazette consultations page.
Nothing changes overnight. The federal EVAP rebate is a separate program, and it's still running. See our EV rebates guide for what you can get today.
Also covered by Charge News Canada. Also covered by Drive Tesla.
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