Victory for Common Sense: Ottawa Scraps Federal EV Mandate
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Environment Minister Grant Hunter issued a joint statement celebrating the federal government’s decision to scrap its electric vehicle (EV) mandate, calling it a major victory for provincial autonomy and consumer choice.
Smith and Hunter emphasized that Alberta fought the mandate from the beginning, warning it was an unrealistic, unaffordable, and unworkable policy that took choices away from families while placing massive demands on electricity grids without proper infrastructure. They pointed out that this decision follows a string of recent federal policy shifts, including the pause on federal Clean Electricity Regulations, the stalled oil and gas emissions cap, and new agreements on provincial methane regulations.
The provincial leaders noted that Alberta is already achieving environmental results without forced mandates, pointing to a 9 percent drop in overall provincial emissions and a 17 percent reduction in transportation emissions since 2019. While welcoming Ottawa’s decision, provincial officials pledged to closely analyze the federal government’s proposed replacement regulations to ensure the EV mandate is not simply recreated under a different name.