One in 5 Canadians (21%) say that current occasions—particularly, the return of the federal EV rebate and the warfare in Iran driving up fuel costs—have made them extra inclined to get an electrical car than beforehand.
That’s in accordance with new Abacus Knowledge polling commissioned by Clear Vitality Vitality in April, which finds that 52% of Canadians are open to an EV whether or not or not the rebate and up to date fuel costs have influenced their emotions.
Openness to getting an EV is especially excessive amongst Canadians aged 18 to 29 (76%), British Columbians (62%), and people with family incomes over $100,000 (65%).
In B.C.—a province identified for its excessive ranges of EV adoption—almost half of these open to purchasing an EV say current occasions have elevated their want to go electrical, suggesting 2026 could also be a yr by which the already-interested are activated to lastly make their buy.
Requested whether or not they had been extra inclined to purchase an EV or a fuel automobile as their subsequent car (versus whether or not they had been merely open to it), 45% of Canadians say they’re inclined towards an EV, the identical as once we requested this query in 2025.
QUOTE
“Whether or not EV gross sales shift up or down, it’s straightforward to suppose a pattern displays altering ranges of curiosity. In actuality, it might have extra to do with {dollars} and cents. When the EV rebate was paused, Canadians waited for it to return. Now that it’s again, they’re shopping for once more. February noticed a 47% year-over-year EV gross sales enhance, capturing solely 12 days of the rebate being again (it returned on February 16). A extra aggressive market with a variety of reasonably priced EV choices may have the identical impact. Put one other manner, we don’t have to persuade Canadians to go electrical a lot as we have to make it simpler for them. Do this they usually’ll persuade their neighbours to get an EV too—with a powerful argument parked within the driveway.”
—Trevor Melanson, director of insights and communications, Clear Vitality Canada
METHODOLOGY
The survey was performed with 2,000 Canadians from April 16 to 22, 2026. A random pattern of panelists had been invited to finish the survey from a set of associate panels primarily based on the PureSpectrum platform. These companions are sometimes double opt-in survey panels, blended to handle out potential skews within the information from a single supply. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random pattern of the identical measurement is +/- 2.19%, 19 occasions out of 20. The information had been weighted in accordance with census information to make sure that the pattern matched Canada’s inhabitants in accordance with age, gender, and area. Totals might not add as much as 100 as a result of rounding.