By Yutaro Sasaki, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
April 8, 2025
The P.E.I. government’s electric vehicle rebate program will no longer include Teslas — a move Environment Minister Gilles Arsenault says was brought about by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
In a phone interview with The Guardian on March 25, Arsenault said the suggestion to drop Teslas from the program was initially brought forward to his department from the P.E.I. Auto Dealers Association.
“Due to Tesla’s association with the U.S. administration and their tariffs, I took their request seriously and we acted upon it immediately,” said Arsenault.
The province is always open to input like this from partner organizations, he added.
“P.E.I. has decided to move forward in getting this to reality and the decision being made at an international level has really impacted our local businesses,” Arsenault said.
Growing number of EVs
The program currently offers a $5,000 rebate for qualified battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and $2,500 for plug-in hybrids. Those who purchase of a Level 2 home charger will see $750 of its cost is incentivized. Motor vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles are also waived.
To date, a total number of 2,214 electric vehicles have been rebated through the provincial government, including 865 EVs in 2024 alone — an approximate 26 per cent increase from 2023, where the province incentivized a total number of 682 EVs.
“As such, the sector seems to be working and I think people are taking advantage of that incentive program and we see more electric vehicles on the road as well,” said Arsenault.
To date, more than $10 million has been rebated to Islanders through the EV incentive program.
Opposition response
Meanwhile, Opposition parties seem to be more or less on board with the P.E.I. government’s decision to remove Teslas from the program.
In a phone call with The Guardian on March 25, Liberal MLA Robert Henderson said he would have liked to have seen Teslas dropped from the program sooner.
“I mean, they took U.S. liquor off the shelves some time ago,” he said, adding that overall he supports the move.
“I think the reality is that from a policy perspective – the optics and the environment of politics that we’re in today in North America, this (dropping Teslas) probably makes some sense,” he said.
In a phone interview with The Guardian on March 25, Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker said he’s also fine with the province’s decision.
“I wasn’t entirely surprised. We’ve seen other provinces do the same thing, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, B.C., and also the City of Toronto recently said that they are no longer going to provide rebates for taxis and ride shares if they are Tesla cars,” he said.
With many EVs available in different makes from P.E.I. car dealerships, it’s much better to keep circulating the cash flow within the province’s local economy if possible, Bevan-Baker added.
“If this means a larger percentage of the rebates and the money that’s dedicated to that going to Island dealers, I am absolutely fine with that,” he said.
Other incentives
Bevan-Baker added, however, that he’d like to see other programs dedicated to lowering emissions get the same attention.
“Though I am for people moving to electric vehicles, we absolutely need at the same time, the same vigour and financial support to expand our public transit system and active transportation capabilities here on P.E.I,” Bevan-Baker said.
Henderson added that as the number of EVs grows, there will have to be money coming in to help maintain P.E.I. roads.
“Because for vehicles that use gasoline or diesel, there’s a tax on that, and electric vehicles are not taxed. So, that’s another fundamental question that has to be addressed moving forward,” he said.
Arsenault said the EV incentive program will evolve and change as Island driving habits do.
“We are always willing to have a review and evaluation of our programs and that’s something we can definitely have a look at,” he said.
That includes revisiting the decision to remove incentives for Teslas.
“See what the next few months will bring. We’re always willing to have conversations with our neighbours on the southern border,” he said.
By the numbers
The following vehicles were registered in P.E.I. in 2024
- 2,746 hybrid electric vehicles
- 1,369 battery-electric vehicles
- 784 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
- 9,430 diesel-engine vehicles (a 10 per cent increase from 2022)
- 118,134 gas-engine vehicles (a two per cent increase from 2022)
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Source: Department of Transportation and Infrastructure
Yutaro Sasaki is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. He can be reached at ysasaki@postmedia.com and followed on X @PEyutarosasaki.