B.C.’s energy minister indicated Tuesday that the government may consider cutting rebates for electric vehicles as part of its efforts to make up for budget shortfalls caused by the elimination of the consumer carbon tax. Read More
Advocates are worried other affordability programs under CleanBC could also be in trouble as government looks to address revenue loss.
Advocates are worried other affordability programs under CleanBC could also be in trouble as government looks to address revenue loss.
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B.C.’s energy minister indicated Tuesday that the government may consider cutting rebates for electric vehicles as part of its efforts to make up for budget shortfalls caused by the elimination of the consumer carbon tax.
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While the elimination of B.C.’s longstanding price on pollution succeeded in dropping gas prices across the province, it has also left a $1.8 billion hole in government revenue used to pay for some of the NDP’s signature climate policies under the CleanBC plan.
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“That’s one of the CleanBC issues we’re reviewing and we will have more to say about that shortly,” Energy Minister Adrian Dix told reporters at the legislature on Tuesday when asked about whether EV rebates could be eliminated.
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He did, however, tout the province’s efforts to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles in B.C. and said there are no plans at this time to change the legislated mandate that all new light-duty vehicles in B.C. must be zero-emission by 2035.
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For now, British Columbians can still get up to $4,000 off the cost of a battery-electric or long-range, plug-in hybrid through the rebate, but there have already been significant changes to the program over the past few years.
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These include the exclusion of anyone making over $100,000 from being eligible for the program, and a reduction in the maximum price a car can be in order to be included in the program from $55,000 to $50,000.
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Only those earning $80,000 or less are able to receive the full rebate.
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The 2025 B.C. budget also took away a tax break that British Columbians had been able to take advantage of when buying a used electric vehicle.
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It isn’t just B.C. that has reduced supports for electric vehicles, with the federal government ending its own rebate program in January.
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Experts warn that it may not just be the electric vehicle program at risk, but also other CleanBC-related supports such as rebates for heat pumps and home retrofits.
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Dix said Tuesday that there is no plan to get rid of the heat pump rebate and that he actually expects the province to do more to help British Columbians make their homes more energy efficient.
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Premier David Eby, however, explicitly mentioned heat pumps and energy retrofits on Monday when saying the province would look at “restructuring” the CleanBC plan as part of its efforts to make up the budget shortfall from the elimination of the carbon tax.
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Eby did promise that his government remains committed to its goal of reducing emissions through a continued price on pollution for high-emitting corporations, the low-carbon fuel standard that aims to reduce the carbon intensity of gasoline, and the development of clean power projects.
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