Quebec Parties Split on EV Strategy Ahead of Monday's Election: ZEV Mandates, Rebates and Charging Compared

With Quebec's provincial election on Monday, October 5, the province's five major parties are offering voters sharply different visions for electric vehicle adoption — from maintaining the current zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate to scrapping it entirely.

Two independent analyses — from industry group Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) and Quebec EV association Association des véhicules électriques du Québec (AVEQ) — map the splits across ZEV mandates, purchase rebates, home charging support, multi-unit residential building (MURB) charging rights, and commercial vehicle policies.

ZEV mandates: three tiers of ambition

• Québec solidaire: Reinstate a ban on new gasoline-powered light-duty vehicle sales starting in 2035, with a bar on registering new gas cars from 2045.
• Parti Québécois (PQ): Target 85% ZEV sales by 2034, excluding non-rechargeable hybrids from the credit system.
• Liberals & CAQ: Maintain the current credit-based system targeting 80% of new sales by 2035, including credits for non-rechargeable hybrids for model years 2025–2027. (The CAQ reduced the target from 100% in June 2026.)
• Conservative Party of Quebec: Eliminate the ZEV standard entirely and withdraw from Quebec's cap-and-trade system.

Rebates: keep, phase out, or cancel

• CAQ: Ends the Roulez vert program in December 2026. Plans a new annual registration tax starting 2027: $125 for BEVs, $62.50 for PHEVs.
• PQ: Keeps the current $2,000 rebate for vehicles under $50,000 but phases it out over four years; limits vehicles per person/company. Considers a larger rebate for sub-$35,000 models.
• Québec solidaire: Extends Roulez vert for four more years. Adds a $10 million "Old Cars" program: $1,000 for retiring vehicles over 15 years old plus a one-year transit pass or car-sharing subscription.
• Liberals: Oppose Roulez vert cancellation; want to evaluate subsidies based on available funding — no detailed timeline or amounts.
• Conservatives: Favour eliminating EV rebates; "allow Quebecers to choose the vehicle that suits their needs, their budget and their reality, without the government deciding for them."

Home charging and MURB access

• CAQ: Fixed $600 toward home charging equipment; in some cases covers 50% of installation costs. Targets 35% of MURB parking spaces (~600,000 spots) equipped with chargers by 2030.
• PQ: Home charging support; accelerates DC fast-charger deployment on highways; promotes vehicle-to-grid. Targets 6,700 public fast chargers and 110,000 Level 2 public chargers by 2030.
• Québec solidaire: Adds public and residential stations.
• Liberals: "Rely on experts" for infrastructure deployment; acknowledge MURB charging needs in new construction but offer no details.
• Conservatives: Simplify building code; no further details on MURB charging rights.

Commercial vehicles: the heavy-duty divide

• Québec solidaire: ZEV standard for medium- and heavy-duty trucks; zero-emission local delivery vehicles and taxis by 2035.
• CAQ: Ends the Programme Écocamionnage MHDV incentive program on March 31, 2028.
• Liberals: Would evaluate whether to continue the Écocamionnage program.
• PQ & Conservatives: No detailed heavy-duty platform published as of Oct 2.

What this means for Quebec EV buyers

If you're buying in the next six months, the CAQ's planned December 2026 Roulez vert sunset is the nearest deadline — a $2,000 rebate on vehicles under $50,000 that disappears unless a new government extends it. The PQ's phase-out plan would preserve it temporarily but shrink it yearly. Québec solidaire's four-year extension offers the most certainty.

For apartment and condo dwellers, the CAQ's 35% MURB charger target by 2030 is the only quantified commitment; other parties acknowledge the gap but haven't specified numbers.

On the commercial side, Québec solidaire's 2035 zero-emission delivery/taxi target would be the most aggressive in North America — significant for fleet operators but dependent on charging infrastructure that doesn't yet exist at that scale.

Full analysis: EMC party comparison report (PDF) and AVEQ voter guide (French).

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