Debates of June 17th, 2025

Opposition Motion—Sale of Gas-Powered Vehicles

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know the details of the situation the member across the way spoke of, but what I do know is that the intent of the government was to provide funds, and those funds ran dry.

If a dealership were to take it upon itself to provide a subsidy, then that is something which the member can continue to lobby on behalf of if he so chooses. For me, what I will do is to continue to advocate for how we can increase consumer influence with regard to electric vehicles, full force.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North mentioned the whole progression of lighting from incandescent and then fluorescent to LED. That was maybe a natural progression. I would suggest to him that rather than mandate the change to EVs, maybe there will be a progression as the technology improves and as the demand is there, but we should not force people to do it. Let us get rid of the mandates and let people live here in Canada.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, using the light bulb as an example, I suspect that had the industry not been mandated, we would never have seen the Province of Ontario, and in fact virtually all of Canada nowadays, moving toward LED. If they have not, I am not 100% sure of that, but I also know that there are different ways we can do it. We are both from Manitoba, and we know that Manitoba Hydro actually promoted it also.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.

The Prime Minister may be new, but his government's radical environmental agenda is not. The Liberals are banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. In under 10 years, it will be illegal for companies to sell gas-powered vehicles in Canada. By 2035, the government will require that all new light-duty car and passenger truck sales be zero-emission.

The Liberals like to frame this as a target, but they conveniently forget to mention that the target is mandatory. The mandate is clear. If we want to buy a new vehicle, it must be zero-emission. By doing this, the Liberals are effectively banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. There are few policies that will devastate Canadians more than this one.

When we take away someone's vehicle, we take away their freedom. For millions of Canadians, having a gas-powered vehicle is not a choice but a lifeline. When we take away a worker's freedom to drive to their job, we take away their livelihood. When we take away a parent's freedom to drive their kids to hockey practice, we impact their family. When we take away a senior's freedom to drive to a doctor, we put their health at risk. By banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles, the Liberals are taking away the freedom of millions of Canadians.

The Prime Minister and his Liberal government believe in a utopian fantasy in which all Canadians can take the subway or their bike to work, and if they cannot do that, then surely they can take a costly, unreliable electric car in the depths of winter without a charging station in sight.

This is absolute nonsense. The Liberals' plan to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles is an attack on our freedoms. It is an attack on the freedom to choose where to go and when to go. The Liberals are banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles in Canada. By doing so, they are signing a death sentence for the future of rural Canada. I represent a rural region in western Manitoba, where life revolves around the ability to travel. If we took away the cars or the trucks from Canadians living in a rural region, the vast majority could not get to work. They could not get to the grocery store. They could not get to the doctor's office. When we take away a rural Canadian's vehicle, we make it nearly impossible to live.

That is exactly what the Liberals are doing by banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles. They are making it impossible for rural Canada to function. A vehicle is needed to pursue the rural way of life. In fact, many rural Canadians rely on a truck to live the rural way of life.

There is a reason folks in rural Canada buy trucks that cost far more than an average car. It is because they have no choice. If we take away the pickup truck, we take away the countless jobs, such as the jobs of farmers, construction workers, natural resource workers and the list goes on.

They suggest that rural Canadians can simply replace their current vehicles with an electric car and life will go on. They call this a transition, a forced transition by government, I should add. What they will not mention is that there are very few places to charge an EV and that they are not equipped to drive long distances. Let us not forget that much of the electricity in Canada's north is generated from diesel; yes, electric vehicles would be charged by electricity generated from diesel. That is the Liberals' environmental policy in action.

In under 10 years, the Liberals will ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in Canada. They will force Canadians into buying costly and unreliable electric vehicles. Think about that. This is happening at a time when the industry itself is failing. Just read the news.

“Honda delays $15-billion EV project citing demand,” reports CTV News.

“GM to halt EV van production in Ontario to adjust for market demand”, says Reuters.

“Ford delays new EV plant, cancels electric three-row SUV”, reports CNBC.

Why should Canadians be forced to buy an EV when the companies making them are backing out?

The most damning criticism of the Liberal government's gas-powered vehicle ban does not come from industry or the media, and it may not even come from Conservatives; in fact, one of the most vocal opponents of the Liberals' gas-powered vehicle ban is the environment minister's very own department. Conservatives have uncovered damning evidence that revealed the environment minister was advised on the damage that banning gas-powered vehicle sales would do to Canadians but plowed ahead with the plan anyway.

When the government creates a new regulation, the department conducts something called a regulatory impact analysis. The purpose of the analysis is to advise the government on the impacts of the regulation, hence the term “regulatory impact analysis”. Conservatives obtained these documents, and what we discovered was very damning. According to the environment minister's very own department, the regulation to ban gas-powered vehicle sales will have a devastating impact on Canadians. The government's own regulatory impact analysis states that this policy will “lead to a loss of consumer choice for consumers”. In other words, Canadians will have fewer options when choosing a vehicle.

The government's internal analysis further reveals that zero-emission vehicles are expected to “cost more than non-ZEVs”. The analysis points out that the price increase could “lead to a reduction in the quantity of vehicles purchased”. This means that fewer Canadians will be able to afford these new, more expensive vehicles.

It gets worse. According to the government's internal report, “Mechanics will likely incur costs to retrofit their shops and invest in training to service ZEVs. These costs would likely be shared with consumers by passing much of the costs onto consumers through higher service costs.” Therefore, not only will Canadians be paying more up front for their vehicles, but they will also face higher repair costs down the road.

The government's internal analysis even highlights the increased wear and tear the Liberals' electric vehicle mandate will have on our highways and roads. It states, “ZEVs are generally heavier than non-ZEVs due to the size of the batteries used to power them.” The document goes on to say that this added weight could “lead to increased wear and tear on roads.”

It even gets worse than that. The analysis reveals that the EV mandate will “increase the demand on the electricity grid.” It goes on to state, “A significant increase in demand for electricity, particularly at peak time, could lead to an increase in electricity prices.”

On top of that, the regulatory impact analysis states that the costs of manufacturing will “tend to be higher than those for non-ZEVs”. It goes on to say that those costs “are expected to be passed directly to consumers”. In fact, the department states that the environment minister's regulations will cost Canadian consumers over $54 billion. Can members imagine that? These are not my words, but the words of the government's analysis conducted by its very own department.

The Liberals were advised that their gas-powered vehicle ban would increase vehicle costs, increase maintenance costs, increase electricity costs, decrease vehicle choice and damage our roads, but guess what. They plowed ahead with their gas-powered vehicle ban anyway. The environment minister's own department was sounding the alarm over the Liberals' vehicle mandate, but the minister ignored its advice. Now Canadians are paying the price.

When Henry Ford first introduced the automobile, he envisioned a future in which everyone could own a car. He famously said, “I will build a motor car…so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.” That vision was not just about cars; it was about freedom and mobility. Whether it is for work, family or simply to explore the open road, we should be embracing Henry Ford's belief in affordability and freedom. Instead, the Liberals are mandating Canadians into expensive, unreliable electric cars. It is for these reasons that I join my Conservative colleagues in calling on the Liberals to immediately end the ban on gas-powered vehicles.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in the past, we know there have been incentives and subsidies offered at the federal and provincial levels to both encourage the growth of the industry and assist people with purchasing electric vehicles.

I am wondering if my honourable colleague across the aisle would support that.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot even afford these things.

I do not think the member gets how much damage the Liberals are doing to Canadians' pocketbooks. Everything is more expensive. We are in the middle of an affordability crisis. People cannot afford housing, for heaven's sakes.

Now the government is going to incentivize people. It is going to give Canadian taxpayers more of their taxpayers' money and say, “Here, go buy something else.” It is absolutely ridiculous.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, apparently, the Conservatives are in favour of free choice. They are against EV subsidies and the incentive program for zero-emission vehicles.

If we apply their reasoning around free choice, oil companies that want to keep operating and polluting should receive no government subsidies.

Does my colleague agree that the federal government should provide no subsidies, whether direct or indirect, to oil companies?

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is about affordability for energy. Canadians need energy, and they need affordable energy. That is the essence of our standard of living in Canada. If we do not have access to affordable energy, we cannot live at the proper level of life as a nation.

The government is coming between Canadians and actually saying, “Here, we are going to pick this kind of car for people to drive.” By the way, what people have relied on, what they grew up with, they cannot even hand down. They cannot hand down the car they used for the last 20 years to their kids, which is what they can afford.

These are the kind of things the Liberals are talking about cutting off from families.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, could the member expand on the damage to the road system that the EV mandate might present?

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, ironically, when we were researching this piece for the motion, that was one thing that came up. We all know that the batteries and technologies are at the point where they actually weigh more than a lot of diesel engines. The biggest difference in putting batteries in light cars is that there are no tires to support that weight in the chassis, whereas if a big diesel engine is put into a four-by-four, they are nice 20-inch wide tires that distribute the weight.

I do not think the department even considered this, and the government obviously did not. It is going to further destroy our roads.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I was a bit surprised with the answer that the member provided.

He gave the impression that he, and possibly the entire Conservative Party, believes that the government should not provide any form of incentive or subsidy to encourage the growth of the industry. I am wondering if this is just a personal feeling that he has, or is this a shared value of the Conservative Party of Canada?

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Liberal government had a report in front of it demonstrating that this policy was going to devastate rural Canada, and it did absolutely nothing. The Liberal environment ministers, one after the other, have done absolutely nothing. I am very frustrated with the government right now.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the member looking at the reports, did he find any evidence that the Liberals went in any other direction, looked at any other reasons for technology to save on efficiencies, or is it all about just going electric, not about other savings or other types of efficiencies?

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the actual report was on the impact analysis of implementing this policy, basically banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. That was the only analysis that was done.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to rise in the House of Commons to speak on behalf of the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge. However, today I rise to speak on behalf of Canadians across the country who are watching their choices being stripped away by a government that feels it should exercise more and more control over their lives, who are watching the cost of living rise and who, once again, are going to be faced with even more rising costs because of the ideologically driven agenda of the Liberal government.

This should not be a partisan issue. At a time when Canadian auto workers are facing unjustified tariffs from our neighbours south of the border, significant job losses are happening across the country, and with unemployment the highest it has been in decades outside the pandemic, our Conservative motion is a common-sense motion that the government should adopt. It is not like it is outside of its scope to recognize and course correct when it introduces bad policy. It did that when it recognized that Conservatives had been right and repealed the consumer carbon tax, for example.

For those watching at home, here is what the Conservative motion that we are debating today says. It reads, “That, given that the Liberal government is banning the sale of gas powered vehicles that will force Canadians to buy electric vehicles, and this mandate will drive up the cost of vehicles by $20,000...the House call on the Liberal government to immediately end their ban on gas-powered vehicles.” This is so Canadians would be able to buy the cars that suit their needs and budget.

This is not about whether someone can or should buy an electric vehicle. If someone wants one, that is great. They should buy one. What we oppose is the government taking away consumer choice. We oppose the government thinking it knows best, and we oppose a government mandate that has negative impacts on our economy and the cost of living. Make no mistake, that is what this mandate does. It does not encourage EV use. It bans gas-powered vehicles altogether by 2035; forces quotas on manufacturers, during a time when they are facing tariffs from our neighbour to the south; and punishes Canadians with higher prices if they dare to choose something different, during a time when most Canadians can barely afford groceries, their rent or their car insurance.

Here is what is happening: Starting in 2026, automakers will be forced to ensure 20% of their sales are zero-emission vehicles. That target ramps up to 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. This is a radical government-mandated phase-out of gas-powered vehicles. It is ridiculous and ideologically driven. This mandate does not care if someone lives in an urban area like Toronto or a rural community in northern B.C. There is no consideration of the impact on cost and no thought of the impact on automotive manufacturers and the consequences for major automotive manufacturers and their workers. What about those who commute long distances to and from work, in the cold, when the battery life is barely half?

This motion is not about opposing EVs. It is far from that. I was in an EV and drove from Vaughan to Ottawa. We had to drive 15 minutes out of the way to find a charger to charge it in the summer, and that took about 30 minutes. I can imagine, if it were -30°C outside, how many times we would have had to have stopped because of how dead our battery would have been. How about the grid and the infrastructure required to support it? We are far from being ready for that. We would need nearly 700,000 charging ports from coast to coast. We have about 60,000 now. This would require a radical transformation that, especially given the Liberals' track record for getting things done, would be next to impossible to achieve in the next 10 years.

We are installing fewer and fewer chargers year over year, not more and more. We would need over $600 billion in new infrastructure to support this. These are the same guys who put billions into a housing accelerator fund, only to create more government bureaucracy with no results.

It gets even better. Only radical environmentalists could think of a scheme where, if automakers do not meet their quota, they would be faced with a $20,000 penalty per vehicle when they are short of their targets. Let me repeat that. There would be a $20,000 tax per vehicle, which would absolutely be passed on to the consumers in the form of higher vehicle prices. It is not rocket science.

This is not a climate plan. It is a tax plan, and it is a control plan, one that perfectly highlights everything that has been wrong with the Liberal government over the last decade. This mandate will have devastating consequences, not just for consumers, but for workers and the Canadian auto sector. A study published in the Canadian Journal of Economics estimates that the mandate will eliminate 38,000 jobs in the auto sector and cost the economy $138.7 billion. Even auto industry leaders, those investing in EVs, are sounding the alarm.

Last week, while at the Canada Automotive Summit hosted in my hometown of Vaughan, Bev Goodman, CEO of Ford Canada, said the mandate would “have a negative impact”, including a “downward pressure on...sales, [an] upward pressure on pricing, and...real concerns for consumers and the industry”.

Furthermore, Kristian Aquilina, president of GM Canada, said, “It's unrealistic to believe that the country is going to go from 5 or 6 per cent [of EV sales] to 20 per cent by model year '26”. That would force them to have to restrict the ability to sell gas-powered vehicles, and we have to think about the dealership jobs across the country and the manufacturing jobs that are reliant on those sales.

Brian Kingston of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association said, “The federal EV mandate needs to be repealed before serious damage is done to the auto industry at the worst possible time.” These are not political voices. They are industry leaders who want EVs to succeed, but who are being asked to do the impossible on an unrealistic timeline in a market that is not ready.

Canadians are not buying EVs in large numbers because they cannot afford them. Right now, demand for EVs is stalling at about 8% to 10% of new car sales in Canada. They remain, on average, $15,000 more expensive than comparable gas vehicles. That is even after taxpayer-funded subsidies. Those subsidies do not come from thin air. They come from Canadians' pockets. Even if someone does not drive an EV, they are paying for someone else's. It gets worse. Once these quotas and penalties take effect, automakers will raise their prices on gas-powered vehicles to offset the cost of compliance. This means that everyone would pay more, even those who cannot or will not buy an EV.

The CAA found that electric vehicles lose up to 40% of their battery life in cold conditions, as mild as -7°C to -15°C. Yes, that is mild in this country. What does this mean for Canadians in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay or rural Alberta, where winters last half the year? EVs are not a universal solution.

On the topic of the grid, our provincial grids are already strained. Ontario Hydro, Hydro-Québec and BC Hydro are warning of growing demand and rising costs. What happens when we go from 8% EVs to 100%? The Liberals have no answer. Their plan is more debt, more subsidies, more taxes and more big shiny announcements. Let us not forget the role of the Prime Minister, who seems to be the architect of much of this ideological shift.

Back in 2021, in the Prime Minister's book Values, he wrote that we need regulations to phase out the sale of new gas vehicles in the next decade. At the Council on Foreign Relations, he talked about using regulation to shape consumer behaviour through bans, quotas and carbon taxes. He even praised Europe's ban as the model that should be replicated right here in Canada.

If Liberals truly believed in reducing emissions, they would unleash Canadian innovation. They would support hybrid options, cleaner fuels, and the development of Canadian oil and gas with lower emissions rather than dirty dictator oil to arbitrarily offset emissions. They would back nuclear. They would invest in charging networks before mandating bans. They would trust the market. Instead, they have chosen top-down mandates, higher prices and fewer choices.

The people who will be hurt the most include the single mom in Vaughan trying to afford a used Civic and the tradesman in Hamilton who hauls heavy equipment. These are the people the Liberals forgot. These are the people who we are standing up for. A Conservative government would repeal the EV mandate, scrap the industrial carbon tax, eliminate fuel standards that punish working people, and support innovation through freedom and competition, not coercion. Most importantly, we would let Canadians choose the vehicle that works best for them. If it is gas, hybrid, diesel, electric or whatever, it will be without judgment, penalties or government overreach.

It is time to put Canadians back in the driver's seat. I urge all members of the House to support this motion. Let us stand up for choice, affordability, common sense and the millions of Canadians who deserve better than a government that tells them what to drive, how to live and what to think. Let us repeal the mandate, end the ban and bring home control over our cars, our choices and our lives.

[John-Paul Danko, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are some days when I think I am living in a South Park episode, where there is reality versus weird conspiracy theory nonsense.

The entire world is transitioning to an electric economy, but the carbon Conservatives just want to do nothing. The McMaster Automotive Resource Centre in Hamilton is world-leading in electric vehicle technology, working with every major manufacturer in the world. The Conservative solution is to just do nothing. The entire market, if we do nothing, will be taken over by high-tech, inexpensive Chinese EV imports.

Will the members support Canadian industry and Canadian workers and take action, or are they supporting Communist China's imports?

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, these are the same old Liberals, just another day.

No one is talking about not investing in technology or developing industry. What we are opposing here is a mandate to remove the sale of gas-powered vehicles, a mandate opposed by industry leaders and industry experts and a mandate that would be opposed by Canadians as they see their costs rise at a time when they are already struggling to make ends meet.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to formulate a coherent response to what I just heard across the way, but I appreciated the member's speech.

Triggered by this comment about EVs, I wonder if the member might give us some perspective on his view of what Chinese EVs mean in our marketplace and why the government raised the tariff on Chinese EVs. What does that mean to us in our marketplace, particularly in our domestic market, where a lot of these plants are not even opening?

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the issue with China flooding our marketplace with electric vehicle technology is that it puts our auto industry at a competitive disadvantage. From my perspective, and I think the perspective of most people connected to the auto industry, steel, oil and gas, we want to support Canadian markets and the Canadian-made technologies in those industries. However, to go back to what I was saying in my speech, the whole purpose of the opposition to this plan is that by mandating car companies to shift to the production of EVs, we would create conditions where not only jobs are lost, but cars are more expensive.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, we have chosen to ban gas-powered vehicles by 2035. That is our choice. It is our future. It is our economy. Why does the Conservative Party insist on imposing its oil-focused vision on Quebec?

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the Conservative Party, we have the best interests of Quebeckers in mind when considering this policy choice. We are worried about the increased cost to their pocketbook. We are worried about the increased costs to their families and the jobs lost in their industry. This is why we will continue to oppose these mandates and stand up for Canadian workers.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the member to be very clear on this issue, and I have raised it on a couple of occasions. It appears that in the Conservative Party, and it is no surprise, Pierre Poilievre says that we should not provide any form of incentives or any sort of subsidy with respect to the EV industry. Is that something the member supports or is Pierre Poilievre wrong?

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing about subsidies for EVs when what we are talking about here is mandating the ban of gas-powered vehicles, which would drive up costs and create more stress on the already stressed citizenry of our country. Of course, we are going to oppose the ban of oil and gas vehicle production because we stand behind Canadians.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk.

It is a privilege to rise in this House today for the first time during this session. I do so with a strong sense of honour and responsibility.

I want to begin by thanking my constituents of Vancouver Granville, who have placed their trust in me. I also thank my family for their heartfelt support and the tireless volunteers who powered our campaign. It is because of them that I have the privilege to serve in this House. I will work every day to serve our community and to continue to make our community a stronger one.

To speak to this motion is to speak to what appears to be a Conservative effort to inhibit Canadian technology, to inhibit opportunity in this country, to inhibit innovation and, frankly, to inhibit looking to the future. What this motion seeks to do, on its face, is remove what is perceived to be, as the Conservatives call it, a ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles. What it actually seeks to do is turn its back on the opportunity for Canadian industry to be world leaders in the production of components for electric vehicles, batteries and so on.

We all know that electric vehicles are the future, and this is a moment Canada needs to seize. It is a moment for us to define ourselves as a country willing to invest in making big, bold decisions to build for the future. Canadians made that very clear in the last election. They voted for a Liberal government because they demand ambitious action on climate change at the same time as we build a strong, forward-looking economy at a time of global crisis.

If this motion is passed, it will put Canada at a substantial disadvantage on the world stage. Given the ongoing trade war with the United States, which certainly on this side of the House we are deeply concerned about, we cannot and must not allow that. This is not just about shifting political ideologies, technology or market trends. It is a matter of recognizing this unique historic moment that we find ourselves in. It is a matter of recognizing the opportunity we have been given to do something about it, the opportunity to tackle one of Canada's biggest challenges, which is climate change, while leveraging Canadian innovation, which we all know is the envy of the world. I would challenge anyone in this House to say that Canadian technology and innovation when it comes to electric vehicles and components are second to anyone else.

We all know that climate change is a serious issue. In my riding of Vancouver Granville, my constituents know this and our government knows this. It threatens our present and it threatens our future.

We know that transportation is one of the highest-emitting sectors in Canada, so we have to address the role it plays in accelerating the climate crisis. Putting more electric vehicles on the road is not only essential to fighting climate change; it is also smart economic policy. It is about recognizing the innovation in the sector that is happening here in Canada. For the first time in many years, we can look forward to the production of Canadian electric vehicles that we will be seeing on the roads of this country.

Our Liberal government consulted extensively with our automotive sector, with workers, with provincial and territorial governments, with indigenous organization and with experts to develop the electric vehicle availability standard. What does that standard do? It says that by 2026, 20% of all new vehicle sales need to be zero-emission vehicles, and that by 2030, 60% of new vehicle sales must be zero-emission vehicles.

We know change does not happen overnight. We know that misleading Canadians into thinking that there is going to be this drastic change overnight is irresponsible. This is why we set up obtainable goals for over the next 10 years.

When it comes to the environment, this policy is projected to reduce cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 362 megatonnes between 2026 and 2050. That is what fighting climate change actually looks like. We recognize the issue on this side of the House, and we are working to fix it.

We know that air pollution from gas-powered vehicles has detrimental health effects and increases the risk of serious illnesses in children and older people. Improving air quality for Canadians will decrease illness as well as mortalities associated with smog and air pollution caused by vehicles.

Health Canada analysis shows that air pollution from on-road vehicles in Canada contributes to asthma, lung disease, 1,200 premature deaths and millions of cases of non-fatal health outcomes. Climate policies are good economic policies not just for the industry but also for Canadians and Canadian workers.

Our climate plan creates a clear, predictable pathway for manufacturers, consumers and infrastructure developers to follow. It gives industry ample time to adjust, innovate and invest. It aligns closely to what many auto manufacturers are already doing in electrification and helps Canada keep pace with similar ambitions in other major economies, such as the European Union and the U.K. This is one part of how we make Canada a world leader.

Our government is also tackling one of the main barriers to buying EVs, which is limited availability and long wait times. We are ensuring that Canadians will have access to the vehicles they need as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. We will make sure that Canadians will have control over their own future, because we are putting Canadians first by supporting Canadian-made solutions at home and promoting them abroad. That is why Canadians voted for this Liberal government. They can trust us to lead the way and put their interests first.

It is a matter of economic opportunity. Electric vehicles are here and they are scaling fast, and we have to seize the opportunity before us. Canadians are looking for cost-effective solutions and it is our duty to deliver. Gas-powered vehicles are not getting any cheaper and gas prices are not coming down, and because we know that in the long term, zero-emission vehicles save money, we are investing in them. There are savings on fuelling because the electricity someone buys to power their electric vehicle is much cheaper than gasoline. There are savings on maintenance costs, such as oil changes, replacing engine parts and repairs. Zero-emission vehicle prices are also heading down as we increase zero-emission vehicle availability. As supply is increased, prices for battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and batteries come down.

Despite what may be said on the opposite side of the House, climate policies are not about forcing choices. Climate policies will ensure that Canadians have access to the vehicles they are saying they want to buy. We have to be prepared to demonstrate flexibility, compromise, hope, commitment, vision and action. That is exactly what we are trying to do, but let us not forget leadership. Showing leadership is what governing is about. It is exactly what our new Liberal government is ambitious about doing. It is about making ambitious choices when it comes to building an economy and taking on climate change.

We all know that the world is moving fast. We have to keep up the pace and we have to leave this world better than we found it. Countries around the world are making decisions like this. Countries like ours, our peer countries, are taking the steps that are required.

The Conservatives want to take us back in time, as they do on every issue, nostalgic about an era that is not coming back. We have to build for a better future, and this motion speaks to exactly what Conservatives seek to keep doing: wishing and hoping for things that are not happening.

When we look at the opportunity for this country, the opportunity to invest in a nation, the opportunity for Canadians and Canadian sectors to lead, electric vehicles and electrification are places where Canada continues to make gains and become a world leader. That is why investment is coming to this country and this sector and why our government is investing in this sector. Most importantly, that is why Canadians are seeing this sector as a way for their economy to grow for the future.

The choice is clear, and Canadians made that choice in the last election. They chose to vote for a government and for policies that understand the important and urgent need to balance the current concerns of Canadians, rural and urban, with the need to build a strong economy for the future; invest in sectors in this country that will create good, long-term jobs; allow Canadians to innovate; and take that innovation and make it into something that can be commercialized. That is exactly what the sector is doing every single day.

As for the Conservatives' choice, they have made it very clear. They want to try to roll back the clock, turn back time. It is not possible. What is possible is to build for the future, and that is exactly what we are trying to do.

The motion presented today seeks to do only one thing. It seeks to mislead Canadians into thinking that somehow our government is trying to take away the choice of Canadians, which this plan simply does not do. What it does is recognize the ambition of this country and of Canadians to invest in sectors that will create economic growth in this country and to fight the urgent climate crisis that Canadians from coast to coast to coast recognize.

Whether we are talking about forest fires in British Columbia or other parts of this country, we have seen first-hand the impact of climate change. We have seen first-hand the importance of taking this up head-on and seeing it not just as a chance to do the right thing, but as a chance to build economic success for this country. Turning crises into opportunity is what we are going to do for Canadians so we can build a strong, powerful economy in this country while fighting the climate crisis.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time that you have acknowledged me, I want to say you look good in that chair.

I want to congratulate the member across the way for his impassioned speech about how the Liberal government knows better than Canadians know about what they should be doing with their futures.

Is it the intention of the government to expand this mandate to tractors? I come from the farm. Will it be expanded to tractors, possibly to construction equipment, and if not, why not?