EV POLLING
Ontarians unhappy about EV adoption
Clean Energy Canada and Abacus Data polled Ontarians on climate action and EVs in the lead up to the provincial election, finding that 55% think climate change is a serious problem and more action needs to be taken to fight it, with only 13% saying we should do less. Only 25%, however, think Premier Doug Ford would agree with that assessment.
The majority (63%) of Ontarians also believe (correctly) that, when you look at the lifetime costs of a car (including maintenance, repairs, insurance and energy to power it), electric vehicles are cheaper than gas vehicles. But when informed that EV sales in Ontario lag the pace seen in other parts of the country, a majority are unhappy and would either like to see Ontario keep pace (28%) or lead (28%).
As Clean Energy Canada’s transport lead Joanna Kyriazis put it, “A lack of provincial EV policies has meant that the majority of new EVs made for the Canadian market are sent to Quebec and B.C., making it even harder for Ontarians to get behind the wheel. And with gas prices soaring, the longer the wait, the more wallets will be squeezed at the gas pump. EVs offer a popular and effective solution to both climate change and rising living costs. It’s time for the provincial government to do more to help Ontarians make the switch.”
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