Sales of electric cars have dropped off sharply in Ontario after the provincial government cancelled a rebate that encouraged consumers to go green with their vehicles.
In the first six months of 2019, sales of electric vehicles in Ontario fell 55% from the same period in 2018, according to data from Electric Mobility Canada. In the second quarter of this year 2,933 electric vehicles were sold in the province of 14.5 million people, down from 7,110 in the same quarter of 2018.
Ontario is the only province in Canada that has not experienced increases in electric vehicle sales year-over-year. Quebec and British Columbia, which offer their own provincial rebates, lead in total sales.
Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario had offered up to $14,000 back for buyers of electric vehicles, but Premier Doug Ford’s Conservative government cancelled the rebate shortly after winning a June 2018 election, saying it was going to people who could already afford expensive cars.
Shortly after that, Ontario’s sales sharply dropped — and national sales did too. National sales of electric vehicles are only at 3.5%, which is far from the federal government’s target of 10% of all vehicle sales by 2025.
British Columbia is now at 10% of vehicle sales, with Quebec close behind at 7%. In Ontario, electric vehicles now make up 1% of total sales after the cancellation of the provincial rebate.