In the latest round of survey work by Clean Energy Canada and Abacus Data, only 21% of Canadian adults think they “probably never will” own an electric vehicle. At the other end of the spectrum, 19% (the equivalent of more than 5 million people) say they love the idea of owning one, and another 31% are interested in considering one.
Most Canadians (63%) would prefer to see electric cars become the majority of cars consumers drive. Fully 80% think it is likely that electric vehicles will reach that level of acceptance. Half of those surveyed think this will happen within the next 15 years.
Personal interest in purchasing an electric vehicle remains robust with 58% indicating that they are certain, inclined or likely to make their next car electric. Majorities think electric vehicles are better for the environment and offer lower fuelling costs, while combustion engines are cheaper to own or lease and more convenient for refuelling. Opinion is divided on maintenance costs.
About 1 in 10 people say they have a car that runs on electricity today and of those half are elated with the experience and a total of 93% are happy with the choice.
Seventy two percent (72%) think Canada should take steps to attract manufacturers of electric vehicles here, which is up five points since November 2020. And three out of four people support the use of government subsidies to help encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles.
QUOTES
Canadians want electric cars, they want the country to manufacture electric cars and they want to see government policy support both the affordability of those cars and help attract investment into electric vehicle manufacturing. As more people are exposed to a wider range and ideally more affordable options, all signs are that this trend is going to gather momentum in the years to come.”
—Bruce Anderson, Chairman, Abacus Data
“Electric vehicles can be seen everywhere these days—on roads, in Super Bowl ads. After all, one’s concern for climate change is hardly the only reason to upgrade. Electric vehicles are far cheaper to fuel, quicker to accelerate, and often technologically ahead of the curve. Gone are the days when driving a Nissan Leaf or a Tesla said something about you. In 2022, it’s just a good car.”
—Joanna Kyriazis, Transportation Program Manager, Clean Energy Canada
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted with 1,500 Canadian adults from January 20 to 25th, 2022. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.53%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
