Canada EV incentives: the federal iZEV programme and every province

Support for electric cars in Canada comes from two separate places, and they work differently. Ottawa runs a single national rebate (iZEV) applied by the dealer at the point of sale. Each province then runs — or does not run — its own programme on top, with its own price caps, income tests and paperwork. Two buyers of the same car in Vancouver and Regina can end up thousands of dollars apart.

All figures below are in Canadian dollars and were checked against the federal and provincial programme pages on the review date shown at the top of this page. Programmes here are funded from annual budgets and have repeatedly paused mid-year when the money ran out, so confirm the status on the programme's own page before you sign anything.

The federal iZEV programme

Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) is administered by Transport Canada. It is not a tax credit: the dealer subtracts it from the bill of sale and claims it back, so you see it as an immediate discount rather than something you file for the following spring.

iZEV was paused in January 2025 when its allocated funding was exhausted, and no new applications were accepted while that pause held. Treat the amounts below as the programme's design rather than as money you can count on today, and check the Transport Canada page for the current intake status before you order.

• Battery-electric, hydrogen and longer-range plug-in hybrids: up to $5,000
• Shorter-range plug-in hybrids (under 50 km electric range): up to $2,500
• Vehicle price cap: base trim under $55,000 for cars, under $60,000 for larger vehicles and vans; higher trims still qualify up to $65,000 and $70,000 respectively
• New vehicles only — used electric cars are not eligible federally
• Leases qualify on a sliding scale; a 12-month lease receives a quarter of the full amount
• One rebate per person per calendar year; there is no income test
• Source: Transport Canada, Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles programme page

Quebec — Roulez vert

Quebec has run the most generous provincial programme in the country, and it stacks on top of iZEV. It is also being deliberately wound down: the amounts step down each year on a published schedule ahead of the programme ending, so the year you take delivery matters more here than anywhere else.

• New battery-electric vehicles: $4,000 in the 2025 step, dropping to $2,000 in the 2026 step before the programme closes
• Plug-in hybrids receive roughly half the battery-electric amount
• Used electric vehicles: a smaller rebate (around $2,000) is available, which is unusual in Canada
• Vehicle price cap: manufacturer's suggested retail price under $65,000
• You must be a Quebec resident and the vehicle must be registered in Quebec
• Source: Gouvernement du Québec, Roulez vert programme

British Columbia — CleanBC Go Electric

British Columbia is the only major province that income-tests its rebate. You apply for a pre-approval before you buy, and the amount you are approved for depends on your household income, so two neighbours buying the same car can receive very different sums.

• Income-tested rebate on new battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles, up to $4,000 at the lowest income band and tapering to nil above the upper threshold
• Plug-in hybrids receive a reduced amount
• Vehicle price cap applies (broadly in line with the federal caps)
• Pre-approval is required before purchase — approvals expire, so time it against your delivery date
• BC residency required; the province also exempts qualifying zero-emission vehicles from part of the luxury surtax
• Source: CleanBC Go Electric passenger vehicle rebate programme

Atlantic Canada and the territories

The smaller provinces have kept comparatively steady programmes, and several of them — unlike the federal programme — will pay out on a used electric car, which matters if your budget is well under $40,000.

• Prince Edward Island: around $5,000 on a new battery-electric vehicle, a smaller amount on plug-in hybrids, plus free registration for a period after purchase; used vehicles eligible
• New Brunswick: up to $5,000 new and around $2,500 used through NB Power's Plug-In NB, subject to funding rounds
• Nova Scotia: around $3,000 new and $2,000 used under Electrify Nova Scotia, including e-bike support
• Newfoundland and Labrador: around $2,500 on new and used battery-electric vehicles
• Yukon: up to $5,000 on a new battery-electric vehicle, with additional territorial support for chargers
• Northwest Territories and Nunavut: no consumer purchase rebate; support is directed at community infrastructure
• Sources: each province's energy or environment department programme page, and NB Power for New Brunswick

Provinces with no purchase incentive at all

This is the part most incentive round-ups leave out. Several provinces — including the two largest by population after Quebec — have no consumer purchase rebate whatsoever, and in some cases charge electric drivers an additional annual registration fee to offset lost fuel tax.

• Ontario: no provincial purchase rebate since the 2018 cancellation of the previous programme
• Alberta: no purchase rebate; an annual electric-vehicle registration surcharge applies
• Saskatchewan: no purchase rebate; an annual road-use fee applies to electric vehicles
• Manitoba: no active purchase rebate at the time of review
• Nunavut: no purchase rebate
• In these provinces the case for an electric car rests entirely on running costs, so run your own numbers rather than assuming a rebate exists

How to check what you actually qualify for

Work in this order: confirm the federal intake status first, because it applies everywhere and is handled by the dealer; then check your province's programme page for its current amount, price cap and whether pre-approval is required; then check your electricity utility, which may offer off-peak rates or charger money that is worth more over three years than a one-off rebate.

Whatever the rebate position, the running-cost gap is the part that repeats every month. Our Canadian cost comparison uses provincial electricity and fuel prices and assumes no purchase incentive, so the saving it shows is the conservative case before any of the money above.