Following an abrupt “pause” of the federal passenger ZEV rebates, what’s going to happen with zero-emission MHDVs in Canada?

Canadians are processing the news about the government pausing the zero-emission passenger vehicle incentive program after an unprecedented rush drained the fund of $71.8 million in a weekend.

While many at the consumer level are disappointed by the decision, commercial fleets across the country are now wondering: what about us?

For the past few years commercial fleets across Canada have been eligible for an array of provincial and federal purchase rebates on medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (MHDV).

Recently, however, there have been changes to some of the programs offered.

To help fleet operators and managers understand the rebate landscape Electric Autonomy has compiled a list of what is available, to whom and where.

Federal iMHZEV rebate

Since July 2022 the federal government has been offering a medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle incentive (iMHZEV) program. All commercial MHDV fleets and operators in Canada are eligible for rebates for electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

“The iMHZEV Program’s incentives provide up to $200,000 per vehicle to a maximum of ten incentives per calendar year or $1 million in incentives per recipient, per calendar year (whichever is reached first),” reads the website.

While the federal passenger zero-emission vehicle incentive program came to a screeching halt this month, the government was quick to confirm iMHZEV is unaffected.

That being said, previous rebate programs have been susceptible to rushes from the market and drained quickly. As of this reporting, the iMHZEV fund is slated to end March 31, 2026.

Quebec’s Écocamionnage program

Quebec is the highest zero-emission vehicle adopting jurisdiction in Canada. Part of its success is that is has been offering a robust menu of emission vehicle rebates to consumers for years — including a rebate for commercial vehicles since December 2021.

The Écocamionnage program is a core pillar of Quebec’s 2030 Green Economy Plan: it offered a subsidy up to $175,000 for a zero-emission MHDV purchase. The rebate was stackable with the federal rebate.

However, the Écocamionnage program was halted abruptly in September 2024 when funds ran out.

A notice on the program website states an additional $35 million was injected into the fund for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to try to help clear the backlog of applications sitting in limbo since early September.

The notice says applicants will be notified about a decision in the coming months. Applications filed after September 6 are not currently being accepted.

Écocamionnage funding was intended to last until March 2025. It is unclear if the Quebec government will opt to reinvest in the program.

B.C.’s Go Electric Program

British Columbia is now the only Canadian province[s] that offers a rebate to medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle buyers.

The Go Electric program offers a subsidy that, when stacked with the federal rebate, is permitted to cover up to 75 per cent of a vehicle’s suggested retail price.

On its own, the B.C. rebate is up to $150,000 (or 33 per cent of the purchase price, whichever is lower). Companies in Canada are eligible for up to 10 MHDV rebates per year.

The program doesn’t have a firm end date, but incentives are subject to available funding, which is limited.

Yukon’s MHDV rebate

In 2022 Yukon briefly offered a rebate for commercial zero-emission MHDV purchases up to 75 per cent of the vehicle’s cost in exchange for two years of access to performance data.

The call for applications closed in January 2023 and the fund was not replenished.

It still marks the first and only medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle rebate offered in one of Canada’s three territories.