Poilievre Attacks Carney Government Over EV Mandate

Canada’s main opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, has launched a strong attack on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government over its electric vehicle policy.

Poilievre alleges that while the government is moving to scrap the existing EV sales mandate, it is planning to bring back a similar requirement through the “back door” using tougher emissions standards.

According to a notice published in the Canada Gazette, the government has recently started the process of repealing the previous EV Sales Mandate, which required 20 per cent of new vehicles sold in 2026 to be electric.

Reacting to the move, Poilievre said Carney was the same person who supported banning gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2030 in 2021, but has now acknowledged that the policy was wrong.

Poilievre claimed the Carney government is now preparing a new “backdoor mandate” through stricter emissions standards. He argued that the proposed standards would be so stringent that, in practice, only electric vehicles could meet them.

The Conservative leader has called on the government to scrap the mandate entirely.