The Electric Vehicle Scam

The government says, “recognizing the need to address the significant emissions of the transportation sector”, the federal government mandates that 100 percent of light-duty vehicle sales in Canada will be zero-emission vehicles by the year 2035.  However, serious questions remain about whether this mandated timeframe is feasible or effective.

We must ask the serious question: why?  Is “recognizing the need” a valid assumption of truth?  Is the underlying proposition about “need”, credible?  Can human behaviour change enough in the normal movement of goods and labour to have any measurable change to climate trends? Is this environmental religion of belief, or the tangible world?

Consumers make choices. However, the Canadian government wants to distort the normal market and purchasing behaviour with regulatory mandates.

While electric vehicles can theoretically lower Green-House-Gas emissions, it is doubtful if government rules and prohibitions about vehicle purchases, are wise or even suitable for the Canadian climate and social organization.

Concerns also exist about the threats the harsh rules pose to Canada’s auto sector, EV supply chains, and critical mineral resource development.  Building an electrical charging infrastructure across the country that can support electric cars, will require a massive investment and substantial upgrades to the country’s electrical grid.  Such could mean a massive misdirection of precious resources away from social support programs.

I’ve got nothing against EVs–if you want one, buy one–and make sure it’s one made in Canada. But I shouldn’t be forced by the government to buy one. Further, all Canadians should not be forced to partly pay for someone else’s expensive vehicle. The subsidies and incentives promoting EVs, are a coercive upwards wealth transfer from the “have-nots to the have-lots”.

There is enough evidence to rescind the current mandated zero-emission vehicle sales minimums;

We must replace specific EV sales targets with reasonable GHG emission standards for automakers;

We must ensure that emission standards and implementation timelines are realistic and align with industry efforts to source critical minerals and develop cheaper, yet profitable electric vehicles with superior operating characteristics.

Market forces must prevail, not government bureaucracy. Consumers must decide, not the government.

The government coercion is unrealistic, risky, and likely ineffective for achieving the dubious and artificial GHG emission targets.

(My prediction of 2024 proved correct)

FORSETH: A costly dose of EV reality  -  Published 23 Jul 2024 Western Standard

A government update report says Canada's EV transition could cost more than $300 billion by 2040.

Canadian financial commentators also recognize the reality of the risky future investment in EVs. I have written several times about the Trudeau government's fantasy plans, the unattainable electrical grid capacity need, the consumer cost of EV vehicles, and their unfriendly environmental life cycle.

To be trendy for the environmental vote, the government jumped into huge giveaways of our money for the manufacturing of EVs, but likely, not all of the boastful political announcements will be realized. It is the old story of the market. Governments may try to manipulate the market for a while, but eventually, reasonable economics determines for good and ill.

I expect Trump to win the election in the USA. He pledges to cancel the Biden policy of EV mandates and massive subsidies. There will still be an EV market in the USA, but the vast government market manipulation will end.

Then, expected sales for such vehicles will collapse as the US government moves away from the substantial subsidy schemes for vehicle manufacturing, consumer purchase subsidies, and the expensive fixes needed for electrical grids.

We must remind ourselves that Canada is a small economic player. Our economy is in the 10th spot, but it is also less than the State of California.  Canada’s Liberal government myths about EVs will probably evaporate as the market reality hits.

Moreover, Canada's climate is not conducive to significant EV use. Upgrading the grid and retrofitting apartments and homes will also take years.

Additionally, independent environmentally conscious people will fund an analysis to thoroughly document how environmentally unfriendly EVs are in their complete life cycle as primary vehicles. Like traditional vehicles, EV cars wear out and break down, are comparatively unreliable, and are very expensive to repair or restore. Vehicle insurance will become a problem.

Fire departments nationwide must upgrade with expensive technology to respond to EV road fires and accidents.

Markets are complex, consisting of competing vectors that are not predictable. Donald Trump's election will soon bring about the cost-reality adjustment for EVs.  With Pierre Poilievre's election, the Conservatives will face hard economic choices.

In response to what will happen in the US, Canada will have to reduce or end its EV mandates and let more normal economic markets unfold with decreased subsidies. Canada needs a balanced budget much more than EV cars.

According to a report released by Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s electric vehicle transition could cost more than $300 billion by 2040 as charging infrastructure is expanded.

The report, an update to a 2021 study that Natural Resources Canada also commissioned, forecasts that Canada needs to significantly accelerate the pace of installing charging infrastructure to add 40,000 public charging ports per year on average between now and 2040. That is a significant increase, given that there are currently around 32,000 public ports across the country.

The report cites that upgrading the electrical grid between 2025 and 2040 is the highest cost to support the mandated number of electric vehicles. Meeting the report's target of 100,520 charging ports by 2025 will be a near-impossible challenge. 

The federal government has mandated that all new vehicles sold in Canada be zero-emission by 2035, with interim targets of reaching 20% by 2026 and 60% by 2030. My prediction is that the market's adjustment reality will require that the collective Liberal scheme for EVs will be cancelled.

EVs currently represent less than 3% of vehicles on the road. That’s not enough to encourage for-profit companies to significantly invest in charging stations. Liberal policy hyperbole and myth-making don’t match the coming reality.