Canada literally has an EV mandate: https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-techn...
Canada has also worked on developing an EV industry: https://electricautonomy.ca/ev-supply-chain/manufacturing/20...
And your reply does not touch on the 'unkind' portion of my comment. Why should those workers suffer more than they already have?
Yes, Canada is economically integrated with the US to a massive degree and we're each other's biggest trading partners. But the analogy with California is a totally false one.
They are a US state subject to its federal laws and political system. We are not.
We maintain political independence, and need to maintain that independence.
You would think if you wanted to be independent you would have your own EV car company. If EVs are the future and Canada cannot make competitive EVs with china this means Canada will not have an auto sector. Given that there are hundreds of thousands of people working in this area it doesnt actually bode well for Canadians.
I am actually Canadian this is why I am so familiar with the situation.
I would love a Canadian EV company to exist because I'd love to work there as a software engineer.
Got any leads? :-)
You are literally advocating for something that is against your own desires.
The Canadian market cannot support a car company without exporting the majority of production. The US is our largest natural market and does not want our auto exports. It's unclear why other markets would want our EVs either.
Artificial barriers to protect an industry where we don't have an advantage (autos) which results in tariffs on a sectors where we do (agricultural products, resources) isn't sustainable or desirable.
But parent poster is correct that blindly subsidizing and funding a local industry with no market will also just lead to boondoggles and failures.
Especially in the context of an uncooperative trading partner which could have been a potential export market for our production in the past but now is a hostile state trying to break apart national unity and destroy what little manufacturing sector successes we have.
We've already had major issues around the massive battery construction plants proposed here in Ontario and Quebec, that got major government support and investment.
Unfortunately this is the very difficult place the manufacturing sector in Canada finds itself in. And the Canadian working class as a whole.
I wouldn't call it myopic to be skeptical here. If there was an easy answer Canada would have taken it decades ago.
I hate to say it but the boondoggles of Canada are just graft. These arent investments in any real sense.
As for this line 'Unfortunately this is the very difficult place the manufacturing sector in Canada finds itself in. And the Canadian working class as a whole.'
look this is just neoliberalism. Maybe stop doing that and things will suck less.
How much are 125k manufacturing jobs in Ontario worth? Are there no better economic sectors that we can build up?
It might simply be that Canada cannot compete in any market. You have a very interesting choice at this stage. Do you A. not have an economy or B. have an economy that may require some sheltering from the world.
A mobile capitalist wants A. A human that is bound to the country probably wants B.
Up until Trump, Canadians viewed the United States as a friendly country, and had a hard time imagining that the US would actually employ its massive leverage in a malicious way. The most concerning thing for Canadians should not be that Trump has tried to employ this leverage against Canada, but that Americans haven't risen up in revolt against this attack on a friendly country. Canada cannot rely on the US being a friendly country in the future, even if Trump does leave office in 2029 (which he is already suggesting he may not do).
So legally speaking, yes, Canada is not like California. Canada is formally an independent country. But practically speaking, unless Canada takes drastic measures, it may become more like California than like an independent country, for all practical intents and purposes.
But also by its political right, and at least one of its national newspapers which is continually running anti-EV FUD. Not the least because our second largest sector in the country (after manufacturing) is oil&gas, and the energy sector is the most powerful political-economic block in the country and the source of ideological power & influence in the western half of the country.
Similar tensions in the US.
There are active disinformation campaigns about EVs running constantly, and if you follow the money it always ends up back at the petroleum sector.
Prices for batteries have plummeted and they're the only expensive component of an electric car so why do we still only see EVs in the luxury vehicle price tier / category?
The North American auto industry refuses to produce a low cost EV.
Although the Bolt is coming back, so that's good I guess. Too bad it's made in the US so I won't touch it.
Allowing critical manufacturing supply chains to move to China is stupid.
We could and should further diversify by removing whatever barriers are keeping European cars out.
Why should Canada rely on an inferior manufacturer?
They infiltrate civil society through their networks of “police stations” and the Confucius Institute with the aim of placing sycophants in positions of power.
They aren’t our friends, and Canadian civil society needs to recognize that.
Canada has a long standing problem. The only thing we've ever been good at is natural resource extraction. Ironically we have several world class universities producing very talented people and IP, and the vast majority of it goes to the states to make money. Then here in Canada we carry on digging stuff out of the ground.
So, you are saying they arw like USA right now, except more predictable?
Second, I don’t buy your fear mongering about China. There’s not much fundamentally different about China and western nations in 2025. They’re a capitalist society prioritizing growth at all costs, same as every other western nation. China is not interested in war, and has stated that consistently over the years.
Third, as far as “critical manufacturing supply chains” go, extremely inefficient luxury personal vehicles don’t fit that definition.
How do you feel about integrating your manufacturing base with a nation that opposes the fundamental values of our nation, and constantly fantasizes about annexing our nation?
Unless you're arguing for Canada to make its own EV manufacturing industry independently from both China and America?
Unfortunately, it's not 2000s/2010s anymore, and rules of the game have changed. Most countries realize that there is a future that's not purely Pax-Americana (including USA as well). Sovereign nations will choose what's best for them and their future, especially in the cases of a neighbouring bully.
and instead dependence on the U.S.?
My anger lies with the neoliberal elites not the Chinese. The elites can go die on the battlefield. Its their mess.
EVs arent able to function in -40c That happens in Canada every year.
Anything under 0c has risk of freezing the lithium battery's electrolyte and will have very very significant capacity loss; not to mention damaging cells. That's a huge problem for Canada.
I look forward to solid state batteries having far better low temp performance.
Our northern most cities like Edmonton get to -40c and -50c regularly: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-extreme-cold...
Fair, yes, my city only ever really gets down to -20c. Yes I own an EV that's outside 365.
To expect much EV adoption in Canada is foolish though.
>hey should feel upset, because their government hasn't addressed the global shift to EVs sooner.
Our government has heavily invested in EVs for like 15 years. This is a bizarre take.
China has significant climatic variation, and Harbin (for example) at around 45 degree latitude is right in line with Montreal.
https://english.news.cn/20230712/a56c80cac8e749f0bcf02579463...
I lived in Edmonton and surrounding rural Alberta for the first 25 years of my life, the most northern and cold major city in the country and it does not get to -40 unless you're counting wind chill, and cars don't feel wind chill, people do.
An EV has no real problems operating in typical Canadian weather, less problems than a gas car in fact. Yes, they lose efficiency but so do gas and diesel vehicles.
And sodium ion batteries are now entering mass production, which have no efficiency loss in extremely cold weather, and in fact will outperform ICE in this regard (though their power density is lower than lithium ion)
None of the 4 biggest Canadian cities have EVER had -40C temperatures. No, wind chill does not count.
In fact, most years they’re not even getting to -30C, and if it does happen it’s only for 1 to 2 days. The rest of the time you’re dealing with average -10C, which China also regularly deals with. But guess what, even if you can’t use your EV one day out of 364 days that’s not that big a deal. Most people should just stay home that day.
The source is I’m Canadian and lived in Ottawa for a decade.
And also an EV would work just fine, just with lower efficiency.
Edmonton, where I'm actually from, has had record lows of -40, but these are extreme outliers. When people speak of -40 in Edmonton they mean wind chill, not real temps. Look at a scatter plot of actual temperatures in Edmonton and it's really not the drama you're implying.
Cold climate is not the barrier to EV adoption. Pricing (and politics) is. Anywhere in the world where EVs have been price competitive to ICE vehicles, consumers have preferred them.
There are political / economic interests in Canada (and North America generally) that absolutely do not want EV adoption. One would expect that from an oil&gas producing nation. Doesn't mean that reasonable people who understand that climate change is an actual thing should support this position.
If you're not plugged in, your EV should be using its stored energy to keep the battery alive, which it can do for several days.