Federal Government Increases Uncertainty for Auto Dealers With the Upcoming Suspension of Purchase Incentives for Zero Emission Vehicles

Transport Canada announced the coming pause of the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program. This is months ahead of the intended program end date and before Parliament can authorize future funding for the program. The iZEV Program was scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2025, or when the allocated funds were fully exhausted. Due to the increased demand for the program, the funds allocated to support the iZEV Program will be completely depleted ahead of the scheduled date of March 31, 2025.

“This decision is particularly frustrating for dealers, who have done their part in building the infrastructure and resources required to support the EV transition,” said Tim Reuss, President and CEO of CADA. “Now we are seeing governments at both the federal and provincial levels decommitting from a difficult and costly process that they, themselves, instituted. There is obvious hypocrisy in imposing ambitious ZEV targets and affiliated penalties on the industry and consumers when the government is showing a clear lack of motivation and support to meet these goals.

“This announcement also highlights a troubling lack of preparedness and foresight. By failing to secure adequate funding for a transition it actively promoted, the Federal government has created uncertainty for both consumers and the automotive industry. Cutting short such a critical initiative while maintaining aggressive 2025 and 2030 ZEV targets send a contradictory and destabilizing message,” added Reuss.

CADA urges the federal government to address this funding shortfall immediately and to develop a consistent, long-term strategy for supporting ZEV adoption. Canada’s climate goals can only be achieved through sustained, reliable commitments—not through sporadic and reactionary measures.