Environment Committee on April 16th, 2026

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Okay, thank you.

I know I don't have much speaking time left, but I have a quick request. I'd like you to provide us with written data on vehicle availability, depending on whether the standard is in place or not. I think it would be useful for the committee to have that data.

Thank you.

[Mark Cauchi]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

I will now turn to Mr. Bexte for five minutes, please.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Welcome, witnesses. Thank you very much for your attendance today.

Good day, colleagues.

I would like to get some understanding about the decrease in zero-emission vehicle sales this year and what drove that. Perhaps Mr. Cauchi could answer that.

From 2025 to 2026, there was a 39% reduction in EV sales. What is the mechanism—

[Mark Cauchi]

We could certainly talk about what we think is happening. Obviously, no one has the full answer.

Certainly, the data did show a decline in sales. We were at about 15% in 2024. We went to about 10.5% in 2025. I heard that Stats Canada has just released the numbers for the first quarter of 2026 and they're up significantly, not surprisingly. I think the price of gasoline is obviously going to have that impact.

We are seeing, as well, the effect of the rebate program. We certainly saw that—

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Was it the expiry and the uncertainty of all the programs?

[Mark Cauchi]

We certainly did see an impact from the expiry of the rebate program. We also—

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you. Maybe I'll pivot here a little.

I wonder if there are some market saturation forces in effect here. It's the demand uptake coupled with uncertainty of government policy and the geopolitical circumstance. We just haven't adapted anything well enough.

Beyond that, if we have the aspiration to be a major exporter of EVs, how does this square with the fact that, irrespective of what our aspirations might be in Asia or Europe, our major customer is the United States and the demand there for imported EVs is not going to materialize?

[Mark Cauchi]

It's important to recognize that there's an ebb and flow of what we see in supply and demand. I take your point, but we're not going to see a static situation. I think that while policy signals south of the border are what they are, we're quite alive to the potential for that to shift.

We're also seeing, of course, the government's interest in trade diversification pretty clearly, including with the European Union. Certainly, automakers are more and more interested in competing globally.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

I know there's an interest there, but it's just not going to change the fact that the United States is geographically adjacent and is always going to be the major opportunity.

Let's pivot here to infrastructure and grid.

We're starting to see from the testimony and the questions that there's kind of a paradoxical mismatch in supply and demand, where the infrastructure is, where the demand is and where the gaps are. Charging infrastructure depends on grid expansion, its transmission and distribution in rural long-distance travel, but the congestion is in the urban interface.

It's stated that it costs $1,500 for a level 2 private charger. Where's the infrastructure money going to come from to fix that, especially with AI demand and new demands on the grid? We don't have the grid capacity to transmit. We don't have the capacity to distribute, and we don't have the capacity to generate.

[Anna van der Kamp]

Maybe I'll take that last question.

Studies are being done currently about the grid demands for charging. All of the utilities across the country are planning for this, certainly, and the federal government is looking very closely at the electricity system to discuss that.

I would note that with the opportunity to manage demand for charging across the country in the future, this is actually going to be a lot less of a problem than we think. Studies are coming out now to say that if we can control charging and have it, for example, when there aren't peaks overnight, then we're actually not going to create a lot of new demand.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Okay. Let's go to the cost to actually install the equipment in homes.

It's $1,500 for a private charger. That's just the charger, but not the panel upgrade from a 60-amp, 100-amp, 200-amp service in a home, let alone the new transformers in all the neighbourhoods all over the place. What is the cost of that going to be?

[Anna van der Kamp]

The $1,500 is the installed cost. Generally, if there is an additional requirement on your panel, that will be a small additional cost, but the cost savings eventually will outweigh that.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

A panel upgrade is a huge expense.

[Anna van der Kamp]

It can be, but again I want to note that with demand management, folks are looking for an opportunity to stay within the panel cost.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bexte.

I now turn to Mr. St‑Pierre, who has the floor for five minutes.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here.

Mr. Cauchi, when the automotive strategy was unveiled in February, there was a lot of support from environmental groups. Clean Energy Canada, Electric Mobility Canada, and the Pembina Institute come to mind, among others.

Why do you think environmental groups support the automotive strategy?

[Mark Cauchi]

In my opinion, they recognize the importance of balancing two priorities: protecting our automotive sector and continuing to make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I believe that's the main reason.

Obviously, environmental groups recognize the importance of electric vehicles to the transition and to Canada's net-zero goals. I think they saw a nice balance in the government's approach. They saw a technology-neutral, flexible regulation, with a reduction in the red tape associated with having two regulations in place rather than one, and at the same time clear targets for EV deployment and a grams-per-mile approach that would not only incentivize EVs but also reduce greenhouse gases from internal combustion vehicles as well as hybrids.

I think recognizing that a sales mandate focusing solely on battery electric vehicles would not necessarily drive the same reductions from other parts of the fleet is an environment win. I think the environmental community broadly recognizes the moment we're in and the importance of that approach.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you.

Can you produce some of these media releases or anything that shows that environmental groups were in support?

[Mark Cauchi]

We can provide a list to the committee. We'd be happy to do that.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

The Premier of Ontario, as well as several industry representatives in Ontario and across Canada, were also very supportive of the announcement.

In your view, why were many Canadians and stakeholders in favour of what was announced?

[Mark Cauchi]

There was a lot of criticism regarding the fact that two regulations existed. I think the Premier of Ontario was clear about his position on this matter.

I think it was very clear that there was a preference in some provincial capitals, and notably in Ontario, for a streamlined regulatory approach that would reduce the administrative burden on industry and support competitiveness. Certainly, that was pretty clear from the Premier of Ontario.

We do see, though, that other provinces, including Quebec and B.C., have obviously maintained their approach to sales mandates. I guess that fits nicely with what the federal government is doing. We did hear some concerns that the previous regulation was duplicating provincial ones, and that is no longer the case. There is some complementarity with what is happening at the provincial level.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

That's perfect. Thanks.

If you could also provide media articles or anything that shows there was other sector support for the strategy, that would be appreciated.

Mr. Tessier, I have one minute left, and I'd like to ask a question about the $1.5 billion investment from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Could you provide a bit more detail on that? Where exactly are we in the timeline? I'd also like a little more information on when the loan roll-out will begin. Could you quickly tell us where things stand regarding loans for charging stations? This is truly good news for Canadians.

[Benoit Tessier]

Since this falls under my colleague's purview, I'll let her answer your question.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

All right.

So my question is for you, Ms. Van der Kamp.