In a recent policy forum, former environment minister Barry Penner expressed doubts that British Columbia would meet its targets for electric vehicle (EV) adoption.

The province had suggested ambitious targets of 26 percent EV use by 2026 and 90 percent adoption by 2030. Nationally, Canada has mandated that 20 percent of all new vehicles sold must be electric by 2026 and 100 percent by 2035.

Penner doubted the ability of governments to meet their carbon reduction goals, seeming to go so far as to doubt the entire endeavor. “Climate goals that we’ve heard so much about in the past seem to be challenged when they run into economic reality,” he said at a recent Resource Works event online.

Resource Works describes itself as a “public-interest advocacy and communications not-for-profit” based in Vancouver, B.C., with the stated mission to “reignite the promise of Canada’s economic future leading respectful, inclusive and fact-based dialogue on natural resource development.”

Penner is now the chair of a Resource Works campaign focused on energy policy in B.C., the Energy Futures Initiative.

Cenovus, which last year produced 586,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada’s oil sands, listed Resource Works as a recipient of more than $25,000 in its 2023 advocacy records.

During his time as environment minister in 2008, Penner was instrumental in introducing an early climate action plan, which included the first broad-based carbon tax in North America.

In 2023 he joined the Cenovus-backed advocacy group Resource Works. In a press release Stewart Muir, founder and CEO of the company sang his praises.

“Barry’s leadership will bring an important and fresh perspective to the conversation on BC’s long-term energy policy.”

EV Groupthink

Electric car policies have been increasingly scrutinized by conservative think tanks. The Charles G Koch Foundation-funded Macdonald Laurier Institute produced a report in May 2024 that questioned the feasibility of electric vehicles and argued that accelerated timelines for vehicle adoption are an economic and security threat in Canada and the U.S. 

“In the absence of a sustainable EV production supply chain, the accelerated transition to EVs would render the United States increasingly dependent on China for critical minerals and manufacturing,” says the report.  

In May 2024 the Biden administration slapped a 100 percent border tax on electric vehicles that same year.

Penner said this policy was a barrier for EV purchasing in North America.

“The government put up a tariff wall, which made it more difficult for consumers to make the switch to electric vehicles, because the cheapest, and some would say some of the better performing electric vehicles now remain in China,” he said.

Other conservative think tanks such as the  Fraser Institute, a libertarian think tank with ties to the Koch foundation-funded Atlas Network have also spoken out out against EV mandates around the same time period. The Fraser Institute referred to the electric vehicle mandate as “Soviet-style” and declared that the “the outcomes are miserable all around.”

Last month, another Atlas Network partner, the Montreal Economic Institute, released an economic note claiming “forced market transition” to EVs would increase the cost of living in Canada. Experts contacted by DeSmog say EV adoption will actually save Canadians money in the long run.

Economy Over Climate?

Penner says there’s been a policy shift in government as people’s concerns shift more towards economic concerns than concerns about climate change.

“I think there’s going to be a re-evaluation of exactly what the specific policies measures should be,” said Penner about the B.C. government.

He said it was a mistake for governments to focus on one type of vehicle.

“Whenever governments think they’re picking a winner, it’s quite often they get there a little bit too late, and then other industries are asked through their taxes to subsidize these chosen industries.”

Penner’s advice to governments was to focus on reducing government oversight and reduce taxes rather than focus on climate-friendly solutions.

“Make your overall investment climate more attractive, reduce red tape, reduce taxes across the board, not just for a few chosen industries, instead of again trying to guess what will be the prevailing technology,” he said.

Penner and Resource Works have previously campaigned to overturn a ban on gas stoves in Vancouver.