Your EV Rebate is Gone: Navigating Canada’s Post-iZEV World

The Canadian electric vehicle (EV) market just took a sharp turn. For years, the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program provided a reliable $5,000 rebate, anchoring affordability for consumers nationwide. High demand unexpectedly depleted the program’s funds, forcing the government to officially pause it on January 12, 2025. This abrupt move leaves a significant financial gap and fundamentally changes how Canadians shop for an EV.

The market immediately reacted to the removal of this key financial tool. EV sales dropped significantly, nearly 45% year-over-year by March 2025. This rapid decline creates a clear paradox: the government mandates that all new vehicle sales must be zero-emission by 2035, yet it simultaneously removed the primary mechanism that encouraged consumers to adopt the technology. While officials suggest a new federal incentive program may eventually return, they have not provided any concrete timeline or details.

Consumers must now look entirely to provincial programs for financial help. This has created a patchwork system where EV affordability depends on your postal code. Prince Edward Island (PEI) currently offers the most generous package. PEI gives residents a $5,000 new EV rebate plus a $1,000 scrappage bonus, and crucially, they impose no MSRP cap. In contrast, Quebec’s Roulez Vert program remains active, but the government decreased the max rebate to $4,000 in 2025 and plans to end the program completely by December 31, 2026.

Across the rest of Canada, the landscape is highly fragmented. British Columbia paused its leading CleanBC Go Electric program in May 2025 for review. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba actively continue to offer robust incentives, including rebates for new and used EVs. However, residents in Alberta and Saskatchewan currently receive no provincial-level financial incentives for personal EV purchases, leaving a major savings void after the iZEV pause.

Beyond the vehicle itself, many provincial programs recognize that home charging access is essential for EV ownership. British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Yukon all offer active incentives to help reduce the cost of purchasing and installing a Level 2 home charging station. Furthermore, a growing number of provinces are supporting the secondary market by offering financial assistance for the purchase of used electric vehicles, which helps make clean transportation accessible to more Canadians.