Quebec Rolls Back Plan to Bar New Internal Combustion Vehicles in 2035

The province of Quebec will no longer bar automakers from selling new vehicles powered exclusively by internal combustion engines (ICE) as of 2035. Instead, car manufacturers will have to ensure that 90 per cent of the new vehicles they sell in the province are zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by that time.

Bernard Drainville, the province’s new minister for the environment, made the announcement last week less than a year after the province adopted the legislation that would have banned the sale of new ICE vehicles. The decision follows the news that the federal government will also reevaluate its electrification targets for the transport sector.

“The world has changed and Quebec must adapt. My priority is finding the right balance between protecting the environment and the economy,” said Minister Drainville. “With that, Quebec consumers will benefit from having a greater variety of hybrid and electric vehicles.”

Instead of targeting ZEV sales of 100 per cent by 2035, the province is aiming for 90 per cent ZEV sales by that same year. (ZEVs include fully electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles.) The quotas for ZEV sales in the years between now and 2035 have also been adjusted in accordance with the final goal.

The change in targets was, perhaps, predictable given the removal of purchase incentives south of the border, where the Trump administration has worked to add barriers to the electrification of the transport sector. Indeed, the move has already led to the cancelation and the delay of a number of electrified vehicles.

Back in Quebec, the province insisted that its ZEV targets will help promote the arrival of hybrid and electric vehicles that are more accessible and have better performance. Accessibility is particularly important in Quebec, where small vehicles are more popular than in other parts of the continent.