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Of all top-heavy Liberal climate policies, electric-vehicles mandate is the worst

Published

1 year ago

6 minute read

From the MacDonald Laurier Institute

By Heather Exner-Pirot

“History has shown us time and again that government quotas are no match for the market.”

To meet Canada’s commitment to its Paris Agreement climate goals, the federal government has announced increasingly heavy-handed emissions reduction policies this year. It culminated Monday in the publication of regulated targets for electric-vehicle sales: an EV mandate.

History has shown us time and again that government quotas are no match for the market. The Liberals want to show us one more time why this is the case.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with EVs. Those who own them tend to love them. The car manufacturing industry is all-in on EVs, and globally has committed US$1.2-trillion toward electrification.

The problem is in the attempt to dictate, by government fiat, what consumers can or cannot buy. In the case of the EV mandate, the federal government is using dealers to enforce their strategy. One hundred per cent of light duty vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 must be EVs, with mandatory sales targets starting at 20 per cent in 2026.

If a dealer falls under the prescribed target for a particular year, they are required to buy expensive credits or pay for public charging stations to atone for their sin. The most likely response will be to sell fewer gas-fuelled vehicles than demand would indicate in order to meet the required ratios and avoid the penalties.

You don’t have to be an economist to predict the outcome: waiting lists, shortages and a black market for internal combustion engines. But it’s worth being specific about why a federal EV mandate can’t overcome the laws of supply and demand.

The first is the cost of EVs: They are more expensive than internal combustions engines. EV adoption is overwhelmingly led by urban, high-income consumers who can charge at home. Aside from nudging auto manufacturers to build charging stations, whose uptake is questionable, the mandate addresses none of the logistical and financial constraints that apartment dwellers, renters and low-income car owners face in owning an EV.

The federal government has pointed to Norway, where almost 90 per cent of new car sales are EVs, as an example of how these challenges can be overcome. But that country’s EV uptake is driven by a hefty subsidy, more than triple the Canadian amount, at about $16,000 a vehicle (and made possible by the revenues from their oil and gas exports). That’s the equivalent of a $700 a tonne carbon tax, and last year it represented 2 per cent of their national budget. I can think of no more expensive way to reduce emissions.

The second problem with the EV mandate is that the dealers don’t control the electricity grid. In parallel with the mandate, the federal government is also pushing Clean Electricity Regulations, which will severely strain utilities’ ability to meet additional demand. And it’s not just capacity that matters – it’s the ability to distribute additional power into millions of homes. In many neighbourhoods and small towns, that distribution capacity does not exist, and it will be very expensive to add.

The third is range in rural and remote areas. The federal government acknowledges that lack of charging infrastructure and battery performance in cold weather is an issue. But they just assume that it will be worked out over time – no need to worry about it now.

Fourth is the ability of manufacturers to ramp up their production to meet EV mandates and incentives across the Western world. This will depend on a supply chain that does not yet exist, from critical minerals, to mechanics, to electricians. And it will depend on greater profitability in the sector, which, outside of China, is mostly selling EVs at a loss.

No amount of regulation from Ottawa can solve all of these problems. There are some that see the EV mandate as a Hail Mary from a government that is unlikely to win re-election. The mandate, therefore, is a foolish but benign distraction.

But for refiners, whose profitability depends on some level of gasoline demand, it causes tremendous uncertainty. As long as the EV mandate hangs over their heads, they will be unlikely to invest in upgrading their existing assets, even to produce clean fuels (as mandated this year under the Clean Fuel Regulations, but which EVs would not use), and they will be very reluctant to invest in new refineries.

With our fast growing population, this will inevitably squeeze the availability of the many refined products and distillates the Canadian economy still needs. There is a cost to these policies, even when unimplemented.

The series of climate policies the Liberals have imposed since Steven Guilbeault was appointed Minister of Environment have mostly applied to industry. But the EV mandate targets consumers, limiting what they can and cannot buy when it comes to their vehicle.

Alas, consumers are voters. And command economies don’t work well in democracies.

Heather Exner-Pirot is director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

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Automotive

Tesla Vandals Keep Running Into The Same Problem … Cameras

Published on April 6, 2025

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hudson Crozier

People damaging Teslas in anger toward their owners and Elon Musk aren’t picking up on the fact that the vehicles have multiple cameras capable of catching them in the act.

At least nine perpetrators have been caught on video keying, writing graffiti or otherwise defacing Tesla vehicles in parking lots across the U.S. in the month of March alone. Most have led to an arrest or warrant based partly on the footage, which Tesla’s “Sentry Mode” automatically films from the side of the unattended vehicle when it detects human activity nearby.

“Smile, you’re on camera,” Tesla warned in a March 20 X post about its Sentry Mode feature. Musk’s company has been working to upgrade Sentry Mode so that the vehicles will soon blast music at full volume when vandals attack it. The camera system, however, has not stopped an increasing number of vandals from singling out Tesla owners, usually in protest of Musk’s work in the Trump administration for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

One incident happened on March 29, the same day leftists coordinated protests around the country for a “Global Day of Action” against Musk. That Saturday also saw alleged instances of violence at protests. The demonstrations stemmed from an online call to action by groups such as the Disruption Project, which encourages activists to foment “uprisings,” find a “target’s” home address and other confrontational tactics.

Tesla’s press team did not respond to a request for comment.

One man allegedly caught on camera keying a Tesla SUV on March 24 apologized to the owner who confronted him in a parking lot in Pennsylvania, police and media reports said. The man faces charges of criminal mischief, harassment and disorderly conduct for allegedly carving a swastika onto the vehicle.

“I have nothing against your car, and I have nothing against you,” the suspect said while the owner filmed him in the parking lot. “Obviously, I have something against Elon Musk.” The man called his own behavior “misguided.”

The defendant’s lawyer told Fox News his “client is a proud father, long-time resident, and is currently undergoing cancer treatment” and that he would not comment publicly “pending the outcome of the case.”

One of the most aggressive acts caught by Sentry Mode was in the case of a man who drove an ATV-style vehicle into a Tesla on March 25. Texas police identified the man as Demarqeyun Marquize Cox, arrested him and said he allegedly gave two other nearby Teslas the same treatment while also writing “Elon” on them. The public defender office representing Cox did not respond to a voicemail from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Tesla cameras also caught three other people in Florida, Texas and Arizona keying and smearing bubble gum on the vehicles in March. The three suspects named by police do not have attorneys listed in county records available for contact.

Many of the vandalism cases since Trump’s return have reportedly caused thousands of dollars in damage for individual owners. For example, the bubble gum incident in Florida brought $2,623.66 in costs, while another keying incident in Minnesota brought $3,200.

Some reported attacks on Tesla vehicles and chargers have gotten the attention of federal law enforcement, including cases of alleged firebombing or shooting.

Two other suspected vandals in New York, one in Minnesota and one in Mississippi have reportedly avoided arrest for now — with one owner declining to press charges — but were all seen on the Teslas’ cameras scratching up the vehicles. Police identified the Mississippi suspect as an illegal migrant from Cuba.

One Tesla owner in North Dakota ridiculed a man who allegedly carved the letter “F” into his Cybertruck in a Costco parking lot — as seen on the Cybertruck’s camera. The defendant faces charges of criminal mischief, and county records say he is representing himself in court.

“I can’t believe this guy is potentially ruining his life to follow a political ideology,” the owner told WDAY News.

“If you’re going to vandalize these vehicles, you’re going to get caught,” the owner said.

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Automotive

Dark Web Tesla Doxxers Used Widely-Popular Parking App Data To Find Targets, Analysis Shows

Published on April 5, 2025

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Thomas English

A dark web doxxing website targeting Tesla owners and allies of Elon Musk appears to be compiled from hacked data originally stolen from a massive ParkMobile app breach in 2021, according to records obtained by a data privacy group. 

The site, known as DogeQuest, first appeared in March and publishes names, home addresses, contact details and other personal information tied to Tesla drivers and DOGE staff. Marketed as a hub for anti-Musk “creative expressions of protest,” the platform has been linked to real-world vandalism and remains live on the dark web. Federal investigations into DogeQuest are already underway, the New York Post first reported.

“If you’re on the hunt for a Tesla to unleash your artistic flair with a spray can, just step outside — no map needed! At DOGEQUEST, we believe in empowering creative expressions of protest that you can execute from the comfort of your own home,” the surface-web DogeQuest site reads. “DOGEQUEST neither endorses nor condemns any actions.”

A screenshot of the DogeQuest surface website captured on April 3, 2025. (Captured by Thomas English/Daily Caller News Foundation)

ObscureIQ, a data privacy group, compiled a breakdown of the data — obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation — and determined 98.2% of records used to populate the site matched individuals affected by the 2021 ParkMobile breach.

DogeQuest originally appeared as a surface web doxxing hub, encouraging vandalism of Teslas and displaying names, addresses, contact details and, in some cases, employment information for roughly 1,700 individuals. The site used stolen ParkMobile records along with data purchased from brokers, flagging anyone who had a Tesla listed in their vehicle registration profile, according to ObscureIQ’s analysis.

The platform — now operating as “DogeQuest Unleashed” via a .onion dark web address — has also published personal details of high-value targets including senior military officials, federal employees and private sector executives in Silicon Valley. A spreadsheet reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation indicates several individuals targeted work areas like cybersecurity, defense contracting, public health and diplomatic policy. DOGE staff and their families appear prominently throughout the data.

A screenshot of DogeQuest's surface website, captured on April 3, 2025. (Captured by Thomas English/Daily Caller News Foundation)

A screenshot of DogeQuest’s surface website, captured on April 3, 2025. (Captured by Thomas English/Daily Caller News Foundation)

No other reporting has yet tied DogeQuest directly to the ParkMobile breach, which impacted over 21 million users in 2021. The company, which facilitates cashless parking across the U.S., quietly disclosed the breach in April of that year, admitting that “basic user information” had been accessed. ObscureIQ’s research shows that exposed data included email addresses, license plate numbers and phone numbers — enough to triangulate identity when paired with commercial data brokers.

The company agreed to a $32 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit stemming from the data breach. The lawsuit alleged that ParkMobile failed to secure its Amazon Web Services cloud storage, allowing access to the data. Although payment data were reportedly not compromised, plaintiffs argued the exposed information still posed serious privacy risks — a claim now reinforced by its use in the DogeQuest doxxing campaign.

Despite federal attention, the site has proven difficult to keep offline, as the dark web mirror incorporates anonymized hosting methods, frustrating law enforcement takedown efforts.

The Department of Justice charged three suspects last week linked to physical attacks on Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships across multiple states, though it has not publicly confirmed any link between those suspects and DogeQuest. Meanwhile, the FBI has acknowledged it is “actively working” on both the doxxing campaign and a parallel rise in swatting incidents affecting DOGE affiliates.

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