VICTORIA – Prime Minister Justin Trinto says he wants to make it easier for more Canadians to drive electric vehicles and does not rule out nuclear power as a cleaner source of energy.
Trinto said electric vehicles help reduce pollution, but are often very expensive for many Canadians.
“We know we need to reduce emissions,” he told an open-air press conference Monday at Royal Roads University in the Victorian suburb of Colwood.
“We know we need to reduce pollution and one of the best ways to do that is to have more clean cars on the road.”
Last week’s federal budget highlighted the transition to a green economy, which included expanding the availability of zero-emission vehicles and charging stations, Trinto said.
The federal government will expand a program that offers electric vehicle buyers up to $ 5,000 to help with purchases and will introduce mandatory sales targets that require 20 percent of all vehicles sold by 2026 to be electric, he said.
“We know that electric vehicles are more expensive in advance, even if they prove to be cheaper in the long run,” Trudeau said.  “We know people need this help in advance.”
The sales target program will be expanded in the coming years, Trudeau said, with 60% of vehicle sales being electric by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
The 2022 budget includes $ 400 million over five years to expand the charging infrastructure.
“Investing in this budget will allow thousands of others (charging stations),” Trinto said.  “We know this is a key path forward to help families make the final decision to turn to electricity.”
Trinto said Canada also needs to launch more electricity initiatives, including the potential for increased nuclear power.
“It’s very clear, first of all, that we need to reduce our emissions, we need to reduce our dependence on oil and gas,” he said.  “If we did not already know, the conflict in Ukraine right now with the illegal invasion of Russia underscores how much we need to be able to find cleaner energy sources for our communities, for our country.”
Trinto did not elaborate on the possible expansion of nuclear power in Canada, saying: “Nuclear power is on the table, absolutely.”
A spokeswoman for a Canadian clean energy think tank said that 5% of vehicle sales in Canada are already electric models, with BC at 13%.
Merran Smith, chief executive of Clean Energy Canada, said recent figures show that 80 percent of Canadians are open to the possibility of an electric vehicle.
“Despite the high price of an EV sticker, fuel economy and maintenance are so significant that the EV version often comes out tens of thousands of dollars cheaper,” he told a news conference.  “This is the future.”
About 50 protesters opposed to the COVID-19 restrictions were present at Victoria City Hall before Trinto met with Mayor Lisa Hells.
Earlier, the prime minister said he was often provoking protests in Victoria from “a few people who have expressed concern about something”.
Also Monday, Trinto paid a surprise visit to Canada’s women’s soccer team, which won the gold medal at last summer’s Olympics ahead of Monday night’s match against Nigeria.
“I thought I would let Justin give tonight’s speech before the game,” said coach Bev Preistman as Trudeau walked into the area where the team members were doing stretching exercises.
Trinto congratulated the players and said that the team’s achievements help the girls to play sports until adolescence.
“It’s good to see the men’s team finally catch up, because you are the leader,” Trinto said, referring to the men’s recent qualification to the World Cup.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland kicked off her post-budget tour of the country in Montreal on Monday, saying she started there because the city represents three budget items: the green transition, an innovation economy and fiscal responsibility.
One protester cut off Freeland’s media and called it “belligerent.”
Freeland linked the war in Ukraine to the government’s decision in the budget to move to a publicly accessible register that would disclose assets owned by Canadian corporations, including expensive real estate.
One of the reasons the government was moving faster on the register was to ensure that people like the sanctioned Russian oligarchs could not hide their assets in Canada, Freeland said.
“Events around the world, as well as in Canada, have rightly drawn attention to this issue,” Freeland said, urging provinces and territories to work with Ottawa on the measure.
“I think all Canadians would agree that we need to know who Canada belongs to and we need to know what money is flowing into assets in Canada.”
– With archives from Virginie Ann in Montreal.
This Canadian Press report was first published on April 11, 2022.