A $20,000 tax? Here's what we know about Ottawa's zero

The future of Canada's electric vehicle mandate is uncertain.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this month that he is pausing the national mandate, what Ottawa calls the electric vehicle availability standard .

Conservatives have been calling for some time for policy to be scrapped. Carney stopped short of doing that, but did not rule out eliminating the Trudeau-era climate policy.

Canadian and foreign automakers that sell passenger cars, SUVs and pickup trucks in the Canadian market were supposed to achieve incremental zero-emission vehicle sales targets, starting with 20 per cent in 2026 before hitting 100 per cent in 2035.

It's meant to ensure a range of zero-emission vehicles are available to consumers, such as EVs, fuel cell engines (which convert compressed hydrogen into e