The federal government will release a regulation this week called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, which requires all new vehicles sold in Canada to be zero-emissions after 2035. (Toronto Star)

Talking point: The regulations will enforce the Liberal government’s 2021 pledge to make automakers send only plug-in hybrid, fully electric or hydrogen vehicles to light-duty dealership lots after 2035. British Columbia and Quebec already have provincial mandates for zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales, and the two provinces were also home to 71 per cent of ZEVs available for sale in Canada in 2021, according to Clean Energy Canada. An unnamed government source told the Star that it wants to use the national mandate to improve the supply of EVs to the whole country. But Canadian Automobile Dealers Association CEO Tim Reuss said in a release that “rising inventory levels” on dealers’ lots shows the government must focus on helping consumers afford, use and charge EVs before enforcing a mandate.