The Alberta government says it will be following the federal government’s next emission standards regulations closely after celebrating the scrapping of a Justin Trudeau-era electric vehicle mandate. Ottawa formally moved to repeal the EV sales mandate, which would have set a target of having the cars account for at least 20 per cent of auto sales across Canada this year, last week in favour of more stringent emission regulations – which Prime Minister Mark Carney has yet to finalize. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the cancellation is a “clear victory for Albertans” that came about “thanks in large part to our government’s advocacy.” “From the day this mandate was imposed, Alberta warned it was unrealistic, unaffordable and unworkable,” read a joint statement from Smith and Environment and Protected Areas Minister Grant Hunter. Both politicians called the decision an “important step toward resetting the relationship between Alberta and the federal government.” “We support reducing transportation emissions and giving Albertans lower-emissions options. But environmental policy must be practical, achievable and technology neutral. The EV mandate failed that test,” the statement said. The EV mandate was a product of climate policies Trudeau set during his time as prime minister. Carney has gone on to dismantle a few of his predecessor’s mandates, including repealing the consumer carbon price and scrapping the emissions cap on oil and gas production. The mandate was expected to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of those produced by three million cars. Carney promised those more stringent tailpipe standards when he announced the plan to repeal the mandate in February. But on Monday, the government said it’s only set to begin consultations on the new tailpipe standards in the fall. Political scientist Lori Williams says the move is “clearly a plus” for groups not limited to the Alberta government. “The pressure for changing the policy was coming from provinces like Alberta, but also from the auto industry and others who argued it wasn’t the more effective approach to accomplishing emissions reductions,” she told CTV News Edmonton. While it might indicate Alberta’s increased cooperation with the federal government, she added, the bottom line remained that EV policy “didn’t have the sort of foundation in place to actually bring it to fruition.” “It doesn’t mean that EVs are being rejected. It simply means that a whole lot more needs to be done to present credible alternatives to reducing emissions when people are travelling by vehicles.” The Alberta government said it would “closely analyze” any new regulations “to ensure the federal government does not simply recreate the EV mandate under another name.” With files from The Canadian Press
