The path forward requires thoughtful policy and a resolute choice about the kind of future we want to build

This article is presented by SWTCH Energy and written by Mike Frisina, director of policy for Canada

Canada is at a defining moment for its electric vehicle future.

Over the past year, domestic and global events have highlighted fundamental questions about our national commitment to clean transportation, grid stability and equitable access to electric mobility solutions.

When federal EV incentives paused in January after the $5,000 iZEV program exhausted its funding ahead of schedule, our ZEV market share dropped from 18.9 per cent to 9.7 per cent in a single quarter.

Quebec, our leading EV market, saw adoption rates decline from 42 per cent to 14.8 per cent before rebounding upon incentive restoration. This is evidence of a policy framework that hasn’t created the stable environment essential for sustainable growth.

The real concern isn’t the sales decline.

Rather, it’s what this instability represents: insufficient investment in the policy infrastructure required to capture a generational economic opportunity.

While we debate the merits of purchase incentives, other countries are building integrated strategies that position EVs and charging infrastructure as indispensable nodes in the clean mobility supply chain.

Removing charging barriers

Natural Resources Canada forecasts that Canada needs to install 40,000 public charging ports annually through 2040 to meet demand.

Our current deployment rate? Just 6,600 ports per year.

This critical infrastructure challenge threatens to constrain long-term EV adoption regardless of consumer demand.

The multi-family charging challenge exemplifies our policy gaps. One-third of Canadian households live in apartments and condominiums, yet building code requirements for EV readiness in new construction remain too rare across the country.

This is a gap that targeted capital support through programs like the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) is designed to fill, yet its reach remains insufficient. We’re creating barriers for 34 per cent of our population to access clean transportation, while simultaneously wondering why consumer consideration is lagging. 

The political rhetoric around “choice” and “mandates” misses a crucial point. This isn’t about compelling consumers to buy unwanted products — it’s about creating the market conditions where clean transportation becomes the practical choice. A tool like the federal Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, for instance, is essential precisely because it expands choice by ensuring availability of diverse and affordable EVs nationwide. 

Past technological transitions have required coordinated policy support. We didn’t build our highway system through market forces alone. Computer ownership, now a given for most, was supported by subsidy programs at the turn of the millennium. It would be incorrect to imagine we would electrify our transportation system without public investment of the kind we have deployed many times before.

Four-step plan

The path forward is clear, though politically challenging.

First, we need federal leadership that frames EV policy as economic policy. Clean Energy Canada projects that a fully realized battery supply chain could support 250,000 jobs and contribute $48 billion in annual GDP.

These aren’t co-benefits; they’re the primary justifications for action.

Second, we need better coordination across policy streams. Industrial support for battery plants and consumer purchase incentives should be seen as complementary investments in national competitiveness.

Third, we need a national multi-family charging strategy that treats equitable access as a policy priority. This means mandatory EV readiness and coordinated federal-provincial funding for retrofit programs.

Fourth, we need infrastructure policy that recognizes charging networks as essential utilities deserving of public investment. This includes leveraging existing, revenue-neutral tools like the Clean Fuel Regulations, which create a virtuous cycle by ensuring revenues from charging are reinvested into expanding the network and lowering costs for drivers.

Strong EVs, strong economy

The choice facing Canada is between coordinated public investment in clean transportation infrastructure and ceding an enormous economic opportunity to jurisdictions with greater policy resolve.

Countries that commit to systematic support for clean transportation will capture the industrial benefits; those that rely on fragmented, incentive-driven approaches will become importers of clean technology manufactured elsewhere.

The evidence from 2025 demonstrates that policy stability is the foundation of market confidence.

Consumers need incentives through a stable iZEV program, automakers need clarity on regulatory frameworks like the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard (EVAS), and infrastructure investors need the demand signals these policies create.

Without these, market uncertainty will reign.

To achieve a bright future for Canada’s clean transportation requires deliberate choices about public investment, regulatory frameworks, and industrial strategy. The recommended policies represent significant public expenditure.

However, the question should not be about whether we can afford them. Rather, can we afford not to make them? Are we content to watch as global competitors cement their positions in the clean mobility economy while we forfeit the environmental benefits and the projected quarter-million jobs this transition promises?

This crossroads moment demands commitment, not compromise. Incremental measures and policy reversals won’t deliver the clean transportation system Canadians deserve or the economic benefits this transition promises.

The choice is ours, but the window for action is narrowing.