
Ontario’s big EV gamble just lost everything to Trump
Ford placed a big bet on increasing American demand for EVs, but the new president’s moves almost certainly ended that possibility
U.S. President Donald Trump hasn’t imposed any tariffs on Canada yet, but he’s already dealt a potentially devastating blow to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s signature industrial policy.Ford has heavily touted his plan to make the province a major player in the electric-vehicle industry, especially in the production of batteries. Ontario has promised billions of dollars in government support to make it happen. With the stroke of a pen this week, Trump undermined that plan, perhaps fatally.
As in Canada, the American EV market is largely driven by government rules and incentives. Trump gutted those. He ended mandatory sales quotas for EVs, cancelled a US$7,500 tax credit for buyers, froze federal money for a charger installation program, and abandoned the previous administration’s generous financial support for EV plants. That would be the same support plan that Ontario and the federal government had to match to get automakers to build battery plants here.
Trump also pulled out of the Paris climate pact, cancelling the agreement that drove all the targets and incentives.
With 90 per cent of Ontario’s auto production going to the U.S., what happens in that market is vital to the Ontario industry’s success. Ford has placed a big bet on increasing American demand for EVs, but Trump’s moves are likely to thwart that.
Even with all the incentives provided by state governments and the recent Joe Biden administration, EV sales in the U.S. still hovered around eight per cent of total sales in 2024. That’s a small piece of the market and it’s likely to get smaller without all the government rules and inducements.
Most manufacturers of EVs are caught in a Catch-22 situation. They need higher EV sales volume to take advantage of economies of scale, bring down prices and make a profit. So far, only Tesla has achieved that, accounting for 44 per cent of EV sales in the final quarter of 2024. GM was second at just 12.6 per cent and everyone else was in single digits.
Jack’s Note: If Bonnie Crombie has any smarts about her at all she can eat Doug Ford alive over this pandering debacle he’s created for himself. Anyone paying attention knew from the outset it was a very stupid thing to do and no doubt some of Ford’s advisors told him not to go there but as usual he didn’t listen. Now he plans to call an early election. I can’t wait for that. He can bend over and kiss his ass goodbye (just like Trudeau). Ontario will be much better off with him gone.