Connect with us

Automotive

The Harsh Realities of Electric Vehicles in Canada

Published

5 minute read

From EnergyNow.ca

By Lorne Gunter

When it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), the Trudeau government and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault are putting the policy cart before the technology horse.

If last week’s extreme cold temperatures over most of the country taught us anything, it’s that EVs just aren’t practical (yet) for a country this big and this cold.

The federal Liberals may be willing to risk hundreds of billions of your tax dollars and mine for manufacturing subsidies, purchase subsidies and EV infrastructure to try to force a market for electrics into existence, but Canadians are just not ready to get rid of their internal combustion engines (ICEs). And with good reason.

I heard from a reader in northern Manitoba. He has a Ford Lightning (the fully electric version of the F-150 pickup). When the temperature fell to -40C last week, his truck’s range dropped by half after driving it just 18 kms. He was forced to abandon his work-related trip so he could return home before the charge ran out and he found himself stranded quite literally in the middle of nowhere without heat in the cab.

Another reader, this one from Edmonton, found that not only was his range severely reduced by the cold, but charging time was doubled. His wait at a public fast-charger was two hours instead of one because he had to keep the heat on in his Tesla.

Many charging stations across the country have also been reported to stop working in the extreme cold.

Since this is a country that experiences extreme cold (below -25C) most winters, that makes an EV an unacceptable risk, or at the very least a horrible inconvenience.

Also this week, the highly respected testing magazine, Consumer Reports, said that when temperatures are only as cold as +7C, EVs lose about 25% of their range compared to temperatures of +15C and a third when compared to temps of +25C.

Ranges, of course, are much further diminished when outside temperatures fall below -20C.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the upcoming Electric Vehicle Availability Standard will encourage automakers to make more battery-powered cars and trucks available in Canada. Automakers will have the next 12 years to phase out combustion engine cars, trucks and SUVs with a requirement to gradually increase the proportion of electric models they offer for sale each year. Dec. 19, 2023

Additionally, Consumer Reports (CR) found that ā€œshort trips in the cold with frequent stops and the need to reheat the cabin after a parking pause saps 50% of the range.ā€ That means EVs may be impractical in Canada even for urban commuters or suburban families.

Late last year, CR also concluded EVs are 73% less reliable than gasoline vehicles. As well, they were more expensive to maintain and repair. And when the costs of electricity and home chargers are included, EVs are at least as expensive as gasoline vehicles to refuel.

That puts the lie to Guilbeault’s claim (made in December when announcing his mandate that all new vehicles be EVs by 2035) that while EVs are more expensive to buy, once consumers drive them off the lot, they become much more affordable than gasoline or diesel vehicles.

Not only are EVs more expensive to buy and maintain, because of their weight, they chew through tires about 40% faster. They are more expensive to insure because they cost so much more to repair if they are involved in an accident. They depreciate faster than ICEs. And their batteries lose up to half of their life in four or five years, even if they are fully charged.

All of this explains why car-rental giant, Hertz, announced earlier this month that it was selling its EV fleet – 20,000 cars. They are just too expensive.

Electric vehicles may not be that good for the environment, either.

Many components are, of course, manufactured in China (or by Chinese companies operating elsewhere) using electricity from coal-fired power plants. And this week, Blacklock’s Reporter revealed the federal Fisheries department is reviewing Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker building a heavily-subsidized plant in Quebec, for potential harm to fisheries, wetlands and streams.

The Liberals’ EV mandate is a very, very expensive farce that will likely produce few, if any, environmental benefits.

 

Article Originally Published in the Toronto Sun Here

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

2025 Federal Election

Trudeau and Carney Have Blown $43B on EVs

Published on

David Krayden

General Motors laid off 500 workers at his Electric Vehicle (EV) plant in Ingersoll, ON.

It had nothing to do with the tariffs.

It had everything to do with the plummeting fascination that Canadians have for EVs. They are selling like used Edsels in the late 1950s. In a useless attempt to create a demand for these ā€œgreenā€ vehicles (which aren’t actually green at all because the production of electricity does not result from magic) the governments of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford wasted $42 billions of your tax money. And it was all to bolster an ideology not a demand for cars. There is no demand for these vehicles.

ā€œYou just lost 500 jobs. They’ve nuked those jobs. They’re not there anymore.ā€

-Dan McTeague

Ford, who saw this coming when he called an early provincial election that he knew he probably was going to lose if he waited for the anticipated vote, was actually honest to reporters when he admitted the layoffs had nothing to do with the dreaded Trump tariff but everything to do with public taste.

ā€œWhat I understand from the president of General Motors that I spoke to, it’s going to be about 500 employees. Has nothing to do with the tariffs. He said, the volume is not there. People are not purchasing like they thought they would. So, they have thousands of vehicles sitting there. We make sure we support the workers and make sure that we get the government, especially Canada Post, to pick up some of these vehicles, because that’s what it’s geared for you.ā€

So, Ford expects Canada Post, another government agency on its last legs, to come to the rescue and pick up all these excess EVs? Sounds like it. The irony is that Ford came into office largely because the previous Liberal government had gone hog wild with its green energy program and hydro rates were among the highest in North America. Ford used to say that a industrialized province like Ontario can’t possibly prosper or even subsist on the energy provided by windmills and solar panels. He was right then but over the years he became firmly ensconced in the pocket of Trudeau and the Liberals, just as he is today with Mark Carney.

I spoke to my old friend Dan McTeague on Saturday about this mess. McTeague is a former Liberal MP from the GTA who isĀ the president of Canadians for Affordable EnergyĀ today and well known for predicting gas prices across Canada as the @Ā gaspricewizard on X. As an MP, he always put principal above expediency, and he is no different today. McTeague is anxious for a Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) victory in this federal election and he is actively campaigning for a CPC nominee.

McTeague was not surprised over the dismal outlook for EVs.

ā€œThis is about Pierre Poilievre saying your policies are garbage. They’ve hurt Canadians. They’ve undermined the financial feasibility and sustainability of the federal government and the provincial government, and we’re going to get rid of them, just like we’re going to get rid of the CBC.ā€

-Dan McTeague

ā€œWell, on the 22nd of March after having gone to the Ingersoll plant. I just tweeted a little while ago. I actually went there, filmed what was there in inventory. There were thousands of these vehicles just sitting there doing nothing. Obviously, Doug Ford didn’t get it on the 22nd of March. I said it says a lot about why the Ford nation is giddy about supporting Carney, he’s committed billions in world EV and battery manufacturing like this one in Ingersoll, where the provincial Feds kicked in over half a billion for bright drops. Was supposed to sell 100,000 units. Only sold 2100 actually, it got wrong. It was 2500 they might have probably given that a few away there. But look, this is anticipating what was there. It’s pretty obvious. I mean, I don’t just predict gas prices. Pretty good idea policies, EV mandates, the entire nets,ā€ McTeague said.

McTeague explained that the ā€œEV mandates are toast,ā€ not just because President Donald Trump eliminated them but because they simply never had traction with consumers. He noted that Carney is playing games with the consumer carbon tax – because he hasn’t eliminated it but merely reduced it temporarily to zero – and has continued to keep emissions caps in place.

ā€œWhy are they doubling down on forcing us to have California-style appliances, which are extraordinarily costly to consumers. There are thousands of these things that are coming up. GFANZ, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero that Mark Carney put forward, is now subject to antitrust review in the United States. This guy could be charged and billions of dollars taken away from the GFANZ organization,ā€ McTeague said, adding that ā€œanybody who hopped on the bandwagon a few years ago on net zero is now looking pretty damn foolish, and it’s amazing to see so many stunned Canadians falling in for this.ā€

ā€œYou just lost 500 jobs. They’ve nuked those jobs. They’re not there anymore.ā€

The former Liberal MP said the EV program is just one example of a failed economic record from the Trudeau-Carney regime. ā€œHowever you slice it, the Liberals have had 10 years of failed policies. Net Zero has laid an egg. It’s not doing anything. And what they’re going to try to do is use a lot more public money and hopefully put enough wool over everyone’s eyes, so that we continue to go down this road of more recklessness as a result of what we’ve seen on EVs.

“Anybody who hopped on the bandwagon a few years ago on net zero is now looking pretty damn foolish, and it’s amazing to see so many stunned Canadians falling in for this.ā€

McTeague also wondered how the Ontario premier has moved from a commonsense politician on green energy to a cheerleader for Trudeau’s environmental authoritarianism. ā€œFor Doug Ford to have signed onto this. I mean, Shame on him, but it probably explains why he doesn’t want to support Pierre Poilievre.ā€

Said McTeague: ā€œThis is about Pierre Poilievre saying your policies are garbage. They’ve hurt Canadians. They’ve undermined the financial feasibility and sustainability of the federal government and the provincial government, and we’re going to get rid of them, just like we’re going to get rid of the CBC.ā€

ā€œAnd so, for those reasons, you’re going to see why people are not supporting Pierre Poilievre, because they know, you know, they know which side of the bread is going to get buttered and for guys like Doug Ford, Bad mistake, back the wrong horse, and now we’re holding the bag. That’s why he called the election early.ā€

McTeague said the federal election is a watershed moment for people to decide what kind of future they want: prosperity or poverty. ā€œIf Canadians can’t get their head out of the sand and realize that they’re being duped that they can’t afford, you know, the saddling of the debts that these things are incurring for generations to come, and they think that somehow crapping on pipelines or putting emission caps that won’t allow us to make any more oil or gas to send these pipelines that they now suddenly have discovered are important … If we don’t wake up real soon, next two weeks, I can say confidently the next four years is basically cutting people.ā€

The energy expert predicted that the worst if yet to come if Carney wins a mandate to govern from the voters. ā€œNothing has changed, if anything, Mr. Carney and his company, as we well know, has lied on so many fronts. And here’s the big one that I’m going to say it here now, because I’ve said it many places before, but to be absolutely clear, you’re going to get a carbon tax, and that 20 cents you think you’re getting off. It’s going to be 40 cents by 2030, likely by the end of another government, ā€œshould they form a majority government.ā€

McTeague cautioned against Canadians becoming deluded and declaring, ā€œOh, we’re not worried about the future; we just don’t like Donald Trump, and we think Pierre Poilievre is like him.ā€ Give your head a shake — because you know what, I’m going to spend a lot of time over the next few years, pointing back to the stupidity and frivolity of people. And make no mistake, David, these people know what they’re doing. They’re just trying to be cool and friendly because they made mistakes in 2015, 2019 and again in 2021 and they want to somehow think that they can justify bad decisions. What’s coming at the expense of the country? Coming at the expense of our economic sustainability? It’s likely coming at the expense of what concerns me even more so: the future of the federation of this country.ā€

ā€œI’ve said it many places before, but to be absolutely clear, you’re going to get a carbon tax, and that 20 cents you think you’re getting off. It’s going to be 40 cents by 2030.ā€

Dan and I also discussed how he has discovered that much of the polling being conducted during this campaign is over-sampling people over 60, which comprise at least 50 percent of the respondents included in the surveys. This bodes well for Poilievre and the Conservatives.

Tomorrow I will be examining how the Consevatives are appealing to working class Canadians, labor union leaders and blue collar workers. Seeking and winning the ā€œhard hat voteā€ worked for President Richard Nixon in 1972 and President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It can work for Poilevre too in 2025 — and somehow I think he realizes that.


WATCH: The Ugly Truth About Carney: Trudeau Subsidies Fail


CHECK OUT OUR KR NEWS INVESTIGATIVE SERIES ON MARK CARNEY

Rich Banker Man Mark Carney Caught by CBC & CTV Dodging Taxes

Rich Banker Man Mark Carney Caught by CBC & CTV Dodging Taxes

Apr 5
Liberal MP Encouraged the Abduction of Conservative Rival for Chinese Bounty

Liberal MP Encouraged the Abduction of Conservative Rival for Chinese Bounty

Ā·
Mar 30
KR NEWSLETTER: Mark Carney to "Fold" "After the vote." Carney's Wife's Eurasia Group Boss Spills the Beans on the Liberals' "Elbows Up" Master Plan

KR NEWSLETTER: Mark Carney to “Fold” “After the vote.” Carney’s Wife’s Eurasia Group Boss Spills the Beans on the Liberals’ “Elbows Up” Master Plan

Mar 29
GFANZ, Mark Carney's Climate Cabal That Won't Leave Us Alone

GFANZ, Mark Carney’s Climate Cabal That Won’t Leave Us Alone

Ā·
Mar 16
Mark Carney's is China's Man

Mark Carney’s is China’s Man

Ā·
Mar 13
KRN NEWSLETTER: Mark Carney Deep Dive + Disastrous Liberal Leadership Debates

KRN NEWSLETTER: Mark Carney Deep Dive + Disastrous Liberal Leadership Debates

Feb 25
Continue Reading

Automotive

Tesla Vandals Keep Running Into The Same Problem … Cameras

Published on

 

From theĀ 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 ā€œSentry Modeā€ automatically films from the side of the unattended vehicle when it detects human activity nearby.

ā€œSmile, you’re on camera,ā€ Tesla warned in aĀ March 20 X postĀ about its Sentry Mode feature. Musk’s company has been working toĀ upgradeĀ 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 ofĀ Musk’s workĀ in the Trump administration for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

One incidentĀ happenedĀ on March 29, the same day leftistsĀ coordinated protestsĀ around the country for a ā€œGlobal Day of Actionā€ against Musk.Ā That Saturday also saw alleged instances ofĀ violenceĀ atĀ protests. The demonstrations stemmed from an online call to action by groups such as the Disruption Project, which encourages activists to foment ā€œuprisings,ā€ find a ā€œtarget’sā€ home address and other confrontational tactics.

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

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

ā€œI have nothing against your car, and I have nothing against you,ā€ the suspect said while the owner filmed him in the parking lot. ā€œObviously, I have something against Elon Musk.ā€ The man called his own behavior ā€œmisguided.ā€

The defendant’s lawyer told Fox News his ā€œclient is a proud father, long-time resident, and is currently undergoing cancer treatmentā€ and that he would not comment publicly ā€œpending the outcome of the case.ā€

One of the most aggressive acts caught by Sentry ModeĀ was in the case of a man who drove an ATV-style vehicle into a Tesla on March 25. Texas policeĀ identified the manĀ as Demarqeyun Marquize Cox, arrested him and said he allegedly gave two other nearby Teslas the same treatment while also writing ā€œElonā€ 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 inĀ Florida,Ā TexasĀ andĀ ArizonaĀ keying and smearing bubble gum on the vehicles in March.Ā The three suspects named by police do not have attorneysĀ listedĀ inĀ countyĀ recordsĀ 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 anotherĀ keying incidentĀ in Minnesota brought $3,200.

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

Two other suspected vandals inĀ New York, one inĀ MinnesotaĀ and one inĀ MississippiĀ 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 migrantĀ from Cuba.

One Tesla owner in North Dakota ridiculed a man who allegedly carved the letter ā€œFā€ into his Cybertruck in a Costco parking lot — as seen on the Cybertruck’s camera. The defendant faces charges of criminal mischief, andĀ county recordsĀ say he is representing himself in court.

ā€œI can’t believe this guy is potentially ruining his life to follow a political ideology,ā€ the ownerĀ told WDAY News.

ā€œIf you’re going to vandalize these vehicles, you’re going to get caught,ā€ the owner said.

Continue Reading

Trending

X