Ontario Liberals promise rebates for electric vehicle purchases

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This article was published 22/11/2021 (1087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Ontario Liberals hope to recharge their political fortunes by reviving the electric vehicle subsidies scrapped by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, who drives a Chevrolet Volt, said if his party topples Ford in the June 2 election, consumers would receive provincial rebates of up to $8,000 on electric cars and $1,500 for installing charging gear.

That’s atop the current federal rebates of up to $5,000 per car or truck.

Del Duca said Tuesday it would be “a win-win for Ontario families.”

That’s because a buyer of an eligible vehicle would receive as much as $13,000 in subsidies. (Some 91 models ranging in price up to $60,000 would qualify, but top of the line Teslas, Porsches and Jaguars would not.)

Ottawa introduced its program after Ford’s Tories cancelled the rebates introduced by Ontario’s previous Liberal government.

While the premier, who is now pushing electric vehicle production, suggested last week he might be open to reinstating some rebates, Environment Minister David Piccini said the previous provincial incentives mostly benefited the “affluent, predominantly in the GTHA.”

In contrast, Piccini said the Tories want battery manufacturers to come to the province with “a critical mineral strategy” that would attract mining investment.

“What we’ve seen the premier do is create the conditions for EV investment (by automakers) — $6 billion. I mean the fact speaks for itself,” he said.

The minister added that between the second quarter of 2020 and this year, there was “a 210 per cent increase in the number of Ontarians purchasing electric vehicles.”

NDP MPP Gurratan Singh (Brampton East) said the New Democrats would do even more to woo consumers to electric vehicles.

“If the NDP was in government, we’d ensure that Ontario is a leader in the world with electric vehicles,” said Singh, whose party has pledged $600 per household to installing a charging station.

While the NDP’s environmental platform promises “strong incentives” for Ontarians who purchase zero-emission vehicles, “with a particular focus on those made in Canada” and excluding luxury models, specific rebates are not spelled out.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner, who also drives a Volt, says a Green government would offer a “feebate” scheme that would have a means-tested incentive for people who buy, lease or rent electric vehicles and e-bikes.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie