Evidence of meeting #11 for Industry and Technology in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was workers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Dominique O'Rourke Liberal Guelph, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Just moments ago, we were galvanized and all together with the auto sector and the auto workers. That was the purpose of this particular study that we supported.
Now we're going to argue about the availability of electric vehicles, which I think is a different conversation and does not serve the purposes of this meeting. We have not heard from the entire sector. There is an electric vehicle industry, and we are the industry committee that should hear from more folks.
I will just put some facts on the record, as well. “Electric car sales exceeded 17 million globally in 2024, reaching a sales share of more than 20% globally.” “Electric car sales in 2025 are expected to exceed 20 million worldwide to represent more than one-quarter of cars sold worldwide.”
These trends are very clear. “Prior to the reduction observed in the first quarter of 2025, zero emission vehicles...continued to increase their share of new vehicles sold in Canada, reaching 15% of total new motor vehicle registrations in 2024....” “ZEVs were responsible for 60% of the net increase in total vehicle registrations in Canada in 2024 and accounted for one in seven new vehicles sold that year. But, depending on the region [where you are] that number was as high as one in three or one in four....”
There is a clear trend. There is clear demand.
Encouraging from Toyota Canada were August 2025 sales. You have to remember that we're trying to compare a 10-year technology to a 100-year internal combustion engine technology. Toyota Canada said, “August sales were up 14.4% [year over year] with 21,848 units sold, helped by strong demand for its electrified vehicles, representing 49.1% of all units sold.”
I could go on. What I will add is that no car maker had a 20% target for 2026. Early compliance credits and 2024-25 sales meant an effective compliance target for 2026 around 14%, and we were already there as a sector.
A number of things have disrupted the adoption of electric vehicles in Canada, including the tariffs and the current climate. Even with the headwinds, Q1 2025 EV sales were up over 100% compared to Q1 2023, despite higher interest rates, trade uncertainties and the abrupt end of purchase incentives.
As members of the industry committee, we should want to see this kind of growth in all our sectors. Legacy automakers sometimes claim that EVAS disproportionately benefits certain automakers, but GM has a higher EV market share than Tesla.
This is not the focus of this study today, which is serious to people in Brampton and to people in the auto sector. I think we should give this particular study its due.
No notice of motion was provided for this motion today. We do not, as an industry committee, have a thorough understanding of this sector, having heard from two witnesses and having cherry-picked their responses.
There is a serious review under way of EVAS, which has been suspended. That is being done in broad consultation and understanding of the context. It is not productive to presuppose the outcome of that consultation. We know that 2026 requirements are suspended. We do that consultation with full knowledge of the changing context.
In light of that, Mr. Chair, I do now move that the committee now adjourn.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Okay, colleagues. As you know, a motion to adjourn is a dilatory motion, meaning that there is no further debate.
(Motion agreed to: yeas 5; nays 4)
The meeting is adjourned.