Conservatives blast EV subsidies as sales collapse nationwide
Despite plummeting consumer demand for electric vehicles, the Liberal government is doubling down on corporate welfare for the EV industry, say the Conservatives.
Despite plummeting consumer demand for electric vehicles, the Liberal government is doubling down on corporate welfare for the EV industry, say the Conservatives.
The criticism follows a federal announcement Friday of a $2.5-million investment to establish Electric Vehicle Innovation Ontario (EVIO).
The program, led by the University of Toronto in partnership with seven other southern Ontario universities, is funded through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. It aims to support research, commercialization, and workforce development in the electric vehicle and battery sector.
According to the government, EVIO will embed graduate researchers within Ontario EV and mobility companies. They will work on battery systems, charging infrastructure, power electronics, artificial intelligence-enabled mobility software, and advanced manufacturing. Industry partners are expected to match the federal funding, bringing the total project value to $7.9 million.
“AI and clean technology are vital to helping build a strong economic future for Canada,” said Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon in a statement. “Through this investment … we are backing Canadian ingenuity to grow a world-class EV supply chain, strengthen our competitive advantage, and create good, meaningful jobs.”
Conservative industry critic Raquel Dancho said the announcement amounts to spending millions of taxpayer dollars “on something Canadians aren’t buying.” She pointed to recent sales figures showing zero-emission vehicles accounted for 8.9 per cent of new vehicle sales in October 2025, a year-over-year decline of nearly 42 per cent.
Dancho also questioned the value of the program for taxpayers, noting that the initiative would subsidize placements costing tens of thousands of dollars per participant while benefiting a limited number of selected companies.
“The announcement provides no details about how providing a large federal subsidy per student will produce a return for taxpayers,” she said in a statement, adding that Canadians are effectively subsidizing private-sector salaries.
Conservatives have tied the investment to the Liberal government’s broader zero-emission vehicle mandate, which requires automakers to meet escalating EV sales targets over the coming decade. Dancho said Prime Minister Mark Carney has yet to deliver results from a promised 60-day review of the mandate announced in September.
“It’s time to end corporate welfare and put Canadians back in the driver’s seat,” Dancho said. “Conservatives trust Canadians — not Ottawa — to choose the vehicles that work for them.”
EV sales in Canada were never enough to support a viable EV industry, For a number of reasons. The power grid can not support EV recharging. EV vehicles are more expensive to buy upfront, and impossibly expensive to maintain. Resale value of an EV is zero. There are zero qualified mechanics to repair EVs. And EV batteries are not practical when the temperature is less than -20C. A cold EV battery can not provide the Amperage and Volts to power a vehicle at low temperature.
If all of the logging trucks (about 1,200) in British Colombia were EV battery powered it would take all of the electricity Generated by the Peace River Site C dam to charge them overnight.
When it comes to inexpensive and reliable transportation there is no substitute for internal combustion and petroleum powered vehicles.
If we let the Liberal Government with the aid of the Ontario's Ford Government be in charge of the sand in the Sahara Desert, they would run out of sand in 5 years. The excuse would be climate change.