Car shoppers pessimistic about Canada’s zero-emissions vehicle sales target: survey

An electric vehicle charger is seen in Ottawa on June 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

A new survey has found that the majority of car buyers don’t think the Canadian government can achieve its target of 100 per cent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035, as interest in electric vehicle purchases remains largely unchanged from last year.

The survey from consumer insights firm J.D. Power found that 75 per cent of new-vehicle shoppers are not confident the 2035 target will be reached.

The survey also found that 28 per cent of respondents are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase, down from 29 per cent last year and 34 per cent in 2023.

Canadian interest in EVs is much lower than in the United States, where 59 per cent of those surveyed said they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase an electric vehicle.

The federal government paused an incentive program in January that offered Canadians rebates of up to $5,000 when buying or leasing electric vehicles.

The online survey of nearly 4,000 potential new vehicle buyers found that pause had a negative effect on 42 per cent of those who were likely to consider getting an EV.

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.

The Canadian Press