OTTAWA — Sales of new electric vehicles jumped in March as Canadian took advantage of the long-awaited return of federal government subsidies.

Data released by Statistics Canada on Thursday shows 21,547 new EVs were purchased in March, the highest since December 2024 — just before the government paused the rebate program.

Ottawa brought back subsidies for new EVs on Feb. 16, after pausing them in January 2025 when money from the previous program ran out.

March sales represented an 83 per cent jump from the month before, and 75 per cent from the same time a year ago.

But market share for EVs is still lagging at just more than 12 per cent of all new vehicles sold.

March did also see a jump for all vehicles, with sales overall jumping 42 per cent month-over-month.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2026

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press