Not much changed immediately for electric vehicle drivers across Canada after the federal government announced a step back from its EV policy. But many drivers fear infrastructural growth and improved public charging stations will slow in the coming years.
When Julien Kos drove to Moncton earlier this year, his plan heavily relied on charging his vehicle at a mall while getting a quick bite.
"I got there with 15 per cent and I expected to be able to just charge at the mall," said Kos, who lives in a remote town of Back Bay, N.B., about 130 kilometres south of Fredericton. But he found several public chargers were broken.
Kos said many provincial public chargers are "unreliable," while others chargers owned by Tesla are older and compatible with only Tesla vehicles. With the pause in the EV mandate, he feels fewer automakers would be inclined to keep investing in EVs, resulting in a slowdown in overall infrastructure growth.
"It's definitely disappointing to see that there's not enough infrastructure in our province, specifically," said Kos, who bought his first Tesla EV in January. The policy shift hasn't changed his plans to keep driving his car.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday that the federal government will not implement a mandate requiring that 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada by next year be electric, while promising a 60-day review of the country's electric-vehicle program.
The mandate was initially designed to increase until 2035, by which point all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada were to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids.
Carney said the review is aimed at finding "future flexibilities and ways to reduce costs" while government documents suggest amendments to the annual sales targets, including the 2035 goal, will be considered.
The pause likely won't affect EV adoptions nor those who already have one, said Tracy Miersch, EV ambassador team leader for MEET Moncton, who bought her first EV four years ago.
"Where I think it might impact is the car manufacturers that haven't really bought into the EV idea," she said in an interview. "They might slow their development."
MEET, or Mobile EV Education Trailer, is a program run by Plug'n Drive Canada, an organization that focuses on EV education.
Miersch said there's a concern that government grants for improved public charging stations could be affected, but private companies could help with that gap in the existing infrastructure.
"There are enough private companies and businesses that are now seeing the advantage of having an EV charger at or near their location," she said.