Ontario Premier Doug Ford is asking his counterparts in Quebec and British Columbia to drop their electric-vehicle sales targets, saying they are making the country less competitive.

In the fall, both provinces scaled back or dropped their previous goals of having all new vehicle sales be zero emissions in 2035, but Ford says they should go further.

He says in letters sent Wednesday to the premiers that Ontario’s auto sector is an economic driver for the country, employing nearly 100,000 people, and moves in the United States to roll back electric vehicle policies has an effect on this country’s market.

“Given this context, keeping EV sales mandates in only certain Canadian jurisdictions, currently only Quebec and British Columbia, creates a fragmented, uncompetitive market that risks pushing investment, jobs and production out of Canada and into the U.S.,” Ford wrote.

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A grand opening was held Thursday for Windsor’s NextStar Energy, a facility that was supposed to make electric car batteries but has pivoted to battery storage due to a weak EV market. The Ontario and Canadian governments have pledged up to $16 billion to NextStar. As CBC’s Emma Loop reports, the premier of Ontario says the investment is worth it.

Ford expanded on his letter at an unrelated news conference, saying having such emissions rules at this time doesn’t fit with a “Team Canada” approach.

“Don’t get me wrong, folks, I’m all about the environment, but if we keep doing this GHG, greenhouse gases and everything and the other guy south of the border … gets rid of everything, how do you compete?” Ford said in Kenilworth, Ont.

“So all I’m asking is for them to get rid of all their environmental requests on cars, and let’s start moving forward.”

Quebec now has a target of making 90 per cent of new vehicle sales hybrid or electric in 2035, and B.C. scrapped its mandate but promised to introduce legislation this year to set new targets.

B.C. Premier David Eby responded to the letter in a news conference Wednesday. “I can assure Premier Ford that we are in fact amending our our electric vehicle mandate to ensure it reflects the realities of today,” he said.

Eby said electric vehicles are a way for British Columbians to shield themselves from high gas prices driven by the conflict in Iran.

“We’ll do all we can here in British Columbia to support our friends and Ontario going forward,” he said. “All we ask in return is that everybody across the country understands that across the mountains, things are a little bit different in terms of how these trade wars impact people.”

The federal government earlier this year eliminated its EV sales mandate in favour of stricter emissions standards for the auto sector.