OTTAWA—Canada should stay the course on its mandate for electric-vehicle sales because the market wants them despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s moves to push energy and industrial policy in a different direction, says the governor of Colorado.

“The train has left the station and electric vehicles are here to stay in a growing share of the market in both the United States and Canada,” Jared Polis told The Logic in a recent interview, while wrapping up a visit to Vancouver.

Polis, a Democrat, is currently chair of the bipartisan National Governors Association, whose functions include advocating for states in Congress and at the White House.

His own state had just joined 10 others in a lawsuit to challenge Trump’s resolutions removing California’s power to adopt its own standards for tailpipe emissions, or mandates requiring a rising share of new autos sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles. Trump’s resolution also prevents other states from signing on to California’s targets. The president had already eliminated the federal EV sales mandate.

Colorado’s rules would require 82 per cent of all vehicles sold to be zero-emission—defined to include plug-in hybrids—by 2032. While it is less ambitious than California’s target, Colorado now leads the pack among U.S. states when it comes to the pace of EV adoption. 

Canada brought in its own federal sales target—set at 20 per cent by next year and climbing to 100 per cent by 2035—partly to align its policy with the United States when former president Joe Biden was in power. Sluggish sales growth for EVs raised questions about the target even before Trump returned to the White House, showing open hostility to mandates and imposing tariffs on autos. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has said the Liberals plan to bring back federal incentives to help drive EV demand. 

“We do hope that Canada stays the course,” Polis said in the interview.

That is not the only fight where Colorado’s own efforts could help Canada. The state was part of the case that led the U.S. Court of International Trade to rule Trump did not have authority to unilaterally impose many of his tariffs—including the broad-based duties he slapped on Canadian goods that he linked to fentanyl. (The Supreme Court is still considering whether to hear the case. The tariffs remain for now.)

Polis said the legal action against tariffs is part of a “comprehensive strategy” to “make sure that we can continue a strong relationship with our strong allies like Canada.”

Colorado imported US$5.4 billion worth of goods from Canada last year, with crude oil accounting for more than half the total at US$3.3 billion. Calgary-based Suncor Energy operates a major refinery in Commerce City, Colo. That left the state especially vulnerable to broad-based tariffs on Canadian goods, though Trump ended up imposing a lower rate of 10 per cent on energy products when he brought in the fentanyl-related tariffs. The administration has also said that energy products would be exempt entirely from the 12 per cent so-called reciprocal tariffs that could eventually replace the fentanyl tariffs.

Still, Polis is hardly ready to relax. “The sooner we can clear up the uncertainty around what the tariffs will be, it will help restart investment, which is slowed because of the great uncertainty around the tariff schedule,” Polis said.

The governor said his state is also concerned about potential increases to duties on softwood lumber. “That directly translates to higher construction costs in Colorado,” he said, “and the cost of housing is one of the most important issues my constituents care about.”