Fuel costs, infrastructure gains, incentives stir up Manitoba EV sales in March

Manitobans are buying a record number of electric vehicles as international conflict causes gas prices to soar and government rebates make going green a more attractive option.

Zero-emission vehicles accounted for a record 8.8 per cent of all vehicle purchases in Manitoba in March, according to new data from Statistics Canada. There were 476 EVs purchased in the province, up 44 per cent from the 268 sold the month before.

For Kyle Bazylo, owner of charger installation company WinnipegEVCharging.ca, his switch from a hybrid to a fully electric vehicle six months ago was a no-brainer. He had previously been hesitant about the price, but as the market has shifted, the cars have become more affordable and some companies have begun including perks such as free chargers and cash back while charging, Bazylo said.

In the past few months, however, customer interest has exploded, he said, noting his company’s website traffic has gone up nearly 50 per cent in just the last few months.

“Really, I think it’s just the perfect storm of everything, with the rebates, the fuel prices,” Bazylo told the Free Press on Tuesday.

Manitoba is still behind the country-wide EV adoption average of 12 per cent, but that gap is closing. Manitoba had the highest adoption rate of the Prairie provinces in March and the fourth-highest in Canada, behind only British Columbia (23 per cent), Quebec (22 per cent), and Prince Edward Island (nine per cent).

There are signs Manitoba is quickly taking to EVs, said James Hart, president of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association. Its membership ranges from farmers to delivery drivers, he said, and their reasoning for switching over ranges from environmental benefits to cost savings and performance improvements. Dealerships have recently had trouble keeping the more affordable models of zero-emission vehicles in stock in Winnipeg, he said.

“A lot of people maybe wouldn’t have looked at electric vehicles a year ago, but between the price of gas increasing, all these incentives that are in place, then it starts becoming a question of what electric vehicle is best for me and my case.”

Hart said the group will recommend hybrid cars in some situations — a fully electric vehicle may not work for someone regularly traveling into northern Manitoba, for example — but having more conversations overall is a good sign.

“We operate on gentle conversion … any discussion is a good discussion,” he said.

Bazylo, too, said some indecision still remains among potential customers.

“I think for Manitoba, part of it was hesitation with the infrastructure. We don’t have a lot of cities nearby, so if we are travelling, we need the proper infrastructure to get long distances, and that, I think, was the holdup,” he said. “And I think people are still hesitant about it, but I don’t think they fully know about how well we are connected now.”

In Manitoba, eligible new, pre-owned and leased electric vehicle owners can apply for up to $4,000 toward the cost of the vehicle through the provincial government’s rebate program. The program was to end March 31 but was extended in the 2026 Manitoba budget. The budget was not clear on how long the extension lasts.

Last year, the province announced $500,000 to install 51 EV chargers, 39 as charging stations across the province and 12 at three multi-unit residential developments.

In October, Manitoba Hydro said it would be installing six fast-charging stations on Highway 6, from Lundar to Thompson, by 2027, bringing the province’s total number of charging stations to nearly 300.

“We recognize that we need to build-out that infrastructure if people are going to be able to purchase EVs,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes.

Moyes said the numbers show the provincial and federal initiatives are working. “We’re seeing that with the EV rebate, that it is successful, and and that Manitobans are making that climate-friendly choice because it is more affordable.”

The U.S. and Israel launched its joint war on Iran on Feb. 28, creating world-wide disruptions to oil markets. In Manitoba, fuel prices jumped from around $1.20 per litre in February to around $1.80 per litre this week, according to data tracked by online sector observer GasBuddy.com.

Meanwhile, the federal government renewed subsidies for new EVs on Feb. 16, after pausing them in January 2025 after funding for the program ran out. Owners of EVs made in Canada or in countries with fair trade agreements with Canada can receive up to $5,000 or up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrids. That funding will decrease yearly until they are phased out in 2030, or until the $2.3 billion earmarked for the program runs out.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has scrapped former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s EV sales mandate, which would have required electric vehicles to account for 20 per cent of new auto sales this year, with the target of hitting 100 per cent by 2035.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca