Gas prices and new incentives sparking more EV sales
After months of sluggish sales, electric vehicles are getting a boost from high gas prices and renewed government incentives.
EV sales have climbed since January, when the Liberal government restored incentives, and just before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, sparking a Middle East war that sent gas prices soaring.
According to Statistics Canada data, Canadians bought 8,672 new EVs in January. That rose to 12,547 in February and 21,574 in March, before dipping down to 17,795 in April.
Taken together, EV sales in the first four months of 2026 were up 20.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2025.
More Canadian car shoppers are also considering an EV. An annual J.D. Power survey of new-car shoppers found that 34 per cent of respondents were somewhat or very likely to buy an EV as their next vehicle — up from 28 per cent the year before.
Industry analysts say affordability is driving the renewed interest, as gas prices remain high and EV incentives return.
“I think for the most part, Canadians were just … simply doing the math,” said J.D. Ney, managing director for J.D. Power Canada.
Canada’s auto industry is betting the government’s EV rebate revival will help accelerate slow electric vehicle sales, though some consumers still worry about limited range and charging infrastructure.
Sales rise after slow 2025
The rebound follows a year of sluggish EV sales.
In 2024, when the federal government’s first EV incentive program was in place, Canadians routinely bought more than 20,000 EVs a month. But after the incentives were cancelled, monthly sales dropped.
Charles Bernard, chief economist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, said sales never cratered, but they were certainly lower than the year before. At the same time, some EV infrastructure projects in Canada were put on hold, like Honda’s $15-billion electric vehicle complex which was suspended indefinitely last month.
“In a world where everything is more expensive … it was tough for consumers to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll pay a premium because I love that [EV] technology’,” Bernard said.
The government reintroduced incentives in February, offering up to $5,000 off the price of a fully electric vehicle and up to $2,500 off a hybrid, as long as the vehicles are made in Canada or in a country with which Canada has a free trade agreement.
Bernard says those incentives have made EV prices more comparable to those of gas-powered vehicles, drawing more consumers back in recent months.
Customers calling Shift Electric Vehicles, a used-EV dealership in Burlington, Ont., have been quick to mention the rising cost of gas, said sales manager Max Maurice.
“People come in, you know, claiming … gas prices as the reason why they’re trying to get out of their big Dodge Ram diesel truck that costs them a thousand bucks a month on gas,” Maurice said.
While the Statistics Canada data…
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