The Government of British Columbia is advancing its objective of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles, shifting its deadline from 2040 to 2035. In a bid to expedite this ecological initiative, amendments to the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act mandate that all new light-duty vehicles sold in the province will ultimately be emission-free by 2035.
Dubbed a world first, the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, since it was legislated in 2019, has seen B.C. as a trailblazer in electric vehicle adoption. Encouraged by the success of the initiative, Josie Osborne, B.C.’s minister of energy, mines and low-carbon innovation, announced, “We’re accelerating our work so we can hit our 100 per cent EV sales target five years earlier.”
On this expedited trajectory, by 2026, ZEVs are expected to constitute 26 per cent of vehicle sales, skyrocketing to 90 per cent by 2030, and ultimately achieving the 100 per cent target by 2035. Since the introduction of the ZEV Act, the province has had a track record of surpassing its annual sales targets. As an emblem of this success, in 2023, electric vehicles accounted for nearly 21 per cent of new light-duty passenger vehicles sold in the province, more than twice the original 2025 target.
Pairing this acceleration in electric vehicle adoption with financial incentives, B.C. has reinvested $7 million in its Go Electric EV Charger Rebate Program. The initiative grants support to homes, workplaces and residential buildings seeking to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The province promises resumed acceptance of applications from Oct. 31 after an earlier pause due to oversubscription.
As it stands, B.C. records some of the country’s lowest per-capita emissions of 12 tonnes of CO2-equivalent, notably lesser than the national average of 17.7 tonnes. Still, as the Canada Energy Regulator highlights, transportation remains the largest source of provincial emissions, contributing to 38 per cent of B.C.’s total emissions. Through these measures, B.C. aims for a cleaner province, while adhering to CleanBC’s mission to reduce emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.
