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Transportation

Over Half Canadians Opposed To Fed’s Unaffordable 2035 Ban On Gas Powered Cars

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Over Half of Canadians Oppose Fed’s Plan to Ban Sale of Conventional Vehicles by 2035: Poll
An electric vehicle is seen being charged in Ottawa on on July 13, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

More than half of Canadians DO NOT support the federal government’s mandate to require all new cars sold in Canada to be electric by 2035, a recent Ipsos poll finds.

Canadians across the country are “a lot more hesitant to ban conventional cars than their elected representatives in Ottawa are,” said Krystle Wittevrongel, research director at the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), in a news release on Oct. 3.

“They have legitimate concerns, most notably with the cost of those cars, and federal and provincial politicians should take note.”

The online poll, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the MEI, surveyed 1,190 Canadians aged 18 and over between Sept. 18 and 22. Among the participants overall, 55 percent said they disagree with Ottawa’s decision to ban the sale of conventional vehicles by 2035 and mandate all new cars be electric or zero-emissions.

“In every region surveyed, a larger number of respondents were against the ban than in favour of it,” MEI said in the news release. According to the poll, the proportion of those against the ban was noticeably higher in Western Canada, at 63 percent, followed by the Atlantic provinces at 58 percent. In Ontario, 51 percent were against, and in Quebec, 48 percent were against.

In all, only 40 percent nationwide agreed with the federal mandate.

‘Lukewarm Attitude’

Just 1 in 10 Canadians own an electric vehicle (EV), the poll said. Among those who don’t, less than one-quarter (24 percent) said their next car would be electric.

Fewer Canadians Willing to Buy Electric Vehicles: Federal Research

ANALYSIS: ‘Bumpy Road’ Ahead as Canada Moves Toward 2035 EV Goals

A research report released by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in March this year suggests a trend similar to that of the Ipsos poll’s findings. The report indicated that only 36 percent of Canadians had considered buying an EV in 2024—down from 51 percent in 2022.

“Survey results reveal that Canadians hold mixed views on ZEVs [Zero-Emission Vehicles] and continue to have a general lack of knowledge about these vehicles,” said the report by EKOS Research Associate, which was commissioned by NRCan to conduct the online survey of 3,459 Canadians from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7.

The MEI cited a number of key reasons for “this lukewarm attitude” in adopting EVs, including high cost (70 percent), lack of charging infrastructure (66 percent), and reduced performance in Canada’s cold climate (64 percent).

Canada’s shift from gas-powered vehicles to EVs is guided by federal and provincial policies aimed at zero-emission transportation. The federal mandate requires all new light-duty vehicles, which include passenger cars, SUVs, and light trucks, sold by 2035 to be zero-emission—with interim targets of 20 percent by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030.

Some provincial policies, such as those in Quebec, are even stricter, including a planned ban on all gas-powered vehicles and used gas engines by 2035.

‘Unrealistic’

The MEI survey indicated that two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said the mandate’s timeline is “unrealistic,” with only 26 percent saying Ottawa’s plan is realistic.

In addition, 76 percent of Canadians say the federal government’s environmental impact assessment process used for energy projects takes too long, with only 9 percent taking the opposite view, according to the survey.

A study by the Fraser Institute in March said that achieving Ottawa’s EV goal could increase Canada’s demand for electricity by 15.3 percent and require the equivalent of 10 new mega hydro dams or 13 large natural gas plants to be built within the next 11 years.

“For context, once Canada’s vehicle fleet is fully electric, it will require 10 new mega hydro dams (capable of producing 1,100 megawatts) nationwide, which is the size of British Columbia’s new Site C dam. It took approximately 10 years to plan and pass environmental regulations, and an additional decade to build. To date, Site C is expected to cost $16 billion,” said the think tank in a March 14 news release.

On April 25, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada since 2020 has attracted more than $46 billion cad in investments for projects to manufacture EVs and EV batteries and battery components. A Parliamentary Budget Officer report published July 18 said Ottawa and the provinces have jointly promised $52.5 billion cad in government support from Oct. 8, 2020, to April 25, 2024, which included tax credits, production subsidies, and capital investment for construction and other support.

On July 26, a company slated to build a major rechargeable battery manufacturing plant in Ontario announced that it would halt the project due to declining demand for EVs.

In a news release at the time, Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Canada Inc. said it was taking “immediate action” to address a “recent significant slowdown in short- and medium-term EV growth projections affecting its activities.”

For The Silo, Isaac Teo with contribution from the Canadian Press.

Isaac Teo
Finance

Why Getting a Business off the ground takes Guts

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Being an entrepreneur is a calling for those who not only cope well with risk, but thrive on the challenges it presents. Those who are satisfied by the comfort of a secure job and a steady paycheque need not apply.
Being an entrepreneur is a calling for those who not only cope well with risk, but thrive on the challenges it presents. Those who are satisfied by the comfort of a secure job and a steady paycheque need not apply.

It’s an idea that has crossed the minds of virtually everyone who has worked for somebody else, regardless of the job.

As you put in time and labour that ultimately benefits someone else’s business, it dawns on you: Why can’t I just set up shop and do this myself? Why can’t I be the one taking home the big money after all the bills are paid and enjoying the independence of running my own show?

They’re great questions, but the answers aren’t for everybody.

Actually making the decision to give up the security of a steady job, and the regular paycheque and benefits that come along with it, takes a lot of guts and perseverance — especially in today’s highly competitive economy.

Unless you are among the fortunate ones backed by deep resources, the bottom line is this: when you first set out to become an entrepreneur, you are truly on your own. It’s just you and your idea. And it will be the marketplace — relentlessly detached and unemotional — that determines whether you make it or not.

Budding entrepreneurs who do take the risk to start up their own business generally face two key barriers — capital and human resources.

Many entrepreneurs owe their initial success to the trust of friends and family members, who invest funds in their start-up idea. These types of loans can be troublesome if the proper precautions aren’t taken. Make certain the terms of all loans from friends or relatives are spelled out clearly in a promissory note prepared by a lawyer. You may not be dealing with a bank or a financial institution, but you have to treat repayment in the same manner to avoid conflict with your lenders, who also may happen to be your best friend or your sister.

It’s also important to keep your credit record as clean as possible and establish a line of credit, which you can access for instant cash flow at certain times.

Start-ups are limited to hire only the personnel who they can afford, which often means running on a skeleton staff who may not necessarily be those with the greatest skills and experience. This is why most of us who have conceived what we think is a great idea for a business usually choose too much of the work ourselves and wear many hats in the early days.

It can take a long time to find the right employees when you’re just starting out. Some of the top talent may be reticent to work for a small start-up because they are worried about how it will look on their resume, job security or getting a bigger paycheque.

You need to find candidates who share your entrepreneurial spirit and aren’t averse to taking risks. Look for people who want get in on the ground floor and grow with the business.

As you build your company and expand your market, it’s tremendously important to have a network of mentors whose advice and counsel you trust. No matter how much thought and preparation you put into your business plan, you won’t be able to anticipate everything ahead of you. The marketplace is constantly moving and evolving, causing you and your business to adapt. This is where mentors can help, offering guidance drawn from experiences they had during similar changes in their own journeys.

My own mentors have changed as my career progressed, but they all had a common trait that served me and my businesses well — perspective. They have been able to see things clearly from a distance when my own vision may have been clouded by emotion, allowing me to make more-effective decisions. Entrepreneurship is about taking chances, but not blind ones.

Being an entrepreneur is a calling for those who not only cope well with risk, but thrive on the challenges it presents. Those who are satisfied by the comfort of a secure job and a steady paycheque need not apply. For the Silo, Paola Abate.