- Alberta: Tesla Model 3
- British Columbia: Tesla Model 3
- Manitoba: Tesla Model 3
- New Brunswick: Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Hyundai Kona EV
- Nova Scotia: Tesla Model 3
- Ontario: Tesla Model 3
- Prince Edward Island: Chevrolet Bolt and Hyundai Kona EV
- Quebec: Tesla Model 3
- Saskatchewan: Hyundai Kona EV
Transport Canada handed out 25,452 $5,000 rebates to electric vehicle buyers during the first eight months of 2022. Of those rebates, 38 per cent were delivered to new owners of the Tesla Model 3, despite the fact that the Model 3 is no longer eligible under Transport Canada’s eligibility requirements. (Owners of Model 3s receiving the incentive in 2022 ordered their Model 3s before Tesla bumped the price out of the federal government’s allowable price spectrum.) Even by the somewhat narrow confines of incentive-eligible vehicles alone, the Tesla Model 3 is clearly Canada’s best-selling electric vehicle.
The Model 3 is not, however, the highest-volume Transport Canada-eligible vehicle in every region of the country.
After surveying the federal government’s list of every single vehicle to receive the $5,000 iZEV program incentive — whether that’s the single Audi Q4 e-tron that was delivered in Newfoundland and Labrador in August or two lingering Volkswagen e-Golfs that were delivered in Quebec in January — we now know which “affordable” electric vehicles are attracting the most buyers in each province.
Since April 2022, affordable, in the realm of Transport Canada’s iZEV incentive, means cars with base prices below $55,000 (along with variants of those vehicles priced below $65,000) or trucks, SUVs, and vans with base prices of $60,000 (along with variants of those vehicles priced up to $70,000).
They most definitely are not $9,998 Nissan Micras. But keep in mind, in some provinces, provincial rebates create even deeper discounts, with an additional $8,000 available in Quebec, an extra $5,000 (and a free home charger) in Prince Edward Island, $5,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $5,000 in New Brunswick, $3,000 in Nova Scotia, and an income-tested $4,000 in British Columbia.
Despite an overall vehicle market that was down more than 11 per cent through the early part of the year due to a global supply chain crunch, the federal government’s rate of handing out incentives was actually up 5 per cent through the first two-thirds of 2022, year-over-year. Compared with 2020, EV rebates are actually up 51 per cent, a gain of nearly 9,000 vehicles.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Photo by Graeme Fletcher
Alberta: Tesla Model 3
Over the first eight months of 2022, no electric vehicle in Alberta has been the beneficiary of more federal government rebates than the Tesla Model 3. Of the 425 iZEV-eligible EVs sold in Alberta between January and August, 165 (39 per cent) were Model 3s. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is in second place with 108 deliveries.
British Columbia: Tesla Model 3
Thanks to an established history of electric vehicle rebates, British Columbia is one of Canada’s two EV havens. Of all Transport Canada’s iZEV rebates, 28 per cent end up in B.C., a province that generates only 12 per cent of Canada’s overall new vehicle sales. In 2022’s first eight months, 3,848 Model 3 owners tapped into the iZEV program, more than all other eligible EVs combined.
Manitoba: Tesla Model 3
In Manitoba’s relatively small electric vehicle market — only 124 vehicles collected iZEV rebates in 2022’s first eight months — the Tesla Model 3 finished August ahead of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 by a narrow four-unit margin. The 35 copies of the Model 3 delivered accounted for 28 per cent of the affordable EV market. Over the three summer months, however, the Hyundai Kona EV was the top iZEV-eligible EV. Hyundai and Kia combined to generate 57 per cent of Manitoba’s iZEV-eligible EV volume between June and August.
2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate Photo by Elle Alder
New Brunswick: Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3
In New Brunswick, 186 electric vehicles were responsible for $930,000 in iZEV payouts between January and August. Nearly all of that was spent on four nameplates: 44 deliveries each of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3, 38 Chevrolet Bolts, and 35 Hyundai Kona EVs.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Hyundai Kona EV
Not only was the Model 3 not Newfoundland’s top-selling affordable EV through 2022’s first eight months, it wasn’t even on the podium. Chevrolet dealers delivered 18 Bolts, Hyundai sold 27 Ioniq 5s, and the leader of the pack was the Hyundai Kona EV with 32 units. A far cry from the results in more populous provinces, Tesla only earned 10 per cent of the iZEV-eligible EV demand in Newfoundland and Labrador, where 97 eligible EVs were delivered.
Nova Scotia: Tesla Model 3
Atlantic Canada’s most populated province was also the east coast province to behave most like Canada’s bigger markets: the Tesla Model 3 produced the most iZEV-eligible volume through the first two-thirds of 2022. Granted, the Model 3 didn’t carve up the competition in Nova Scotia the way it did in many bigger markets. At 55 units, the Model was only four sales ahead of the Hyundai Ioniq 5; only five ahead of the Chevrolet Bolt.
Ontario: Tesla Model 3
As if to prove that electric vehicle demand requires a high degree of artificial incentivization, Canada’s biggest vehicle market isn’t even close to being Canada’s biggest EV market. Without provincial incentives on new electric vehicles, Ontario accounts for only 17 per cent of all iZEV-eligible sales in Canada despite the fact that Ontario generates 41 per cent of Canada’s overall auto sales. Of the 4,308 vehicles to collect a $5,000 iZEV incentive in Ontario over the first eight months of 2022, 2,213 were Tesla Model 3s. Nothing else was even close.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
Prince Edward Island: Chevrolet Bolt and Hyundai Kona EV
With some of Canada’s richest provincial EV incentives, a grand total of 74 electric vehicles were delivered in the iZEV incentive program in 2022’s first eight months. It was the Chevrolet Bolt and Hyundai Kona EV — both with 14 sales — that captured first place, while 13 Hyundai Ioniq 5s were sold .
Quebec: Tesla Model 3
Half of the iZEV-eligible vehicles delivered in Canada during 2022’s first eight months — 12,849 to be precise — were delivered in Quebec. Huge provincial incentives mean Quebec’s results can’t really even be compared with other provinces. This explains why a company like Mazda is willing to sell its MX-30 in only two provinces (B.C. and Quebec) and then deliver 77 per cent of those in Quebec. But no, the decidedly low-volume MX-30 isn’t Quebec’s high-achieving EV — that’d be the Tesla Model 3. In 2022’s first eight months, 3,325 iZEV-eligible Model 3s were delivered, well ahead of the Hyundai Kona EV (2,129) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (2,119).
Saskatchewan: Hyundai Kona EV
Don’t look for an EV on every street corner in Saskatchewan. Only 0.3 per cent of the new vehicles sold in Saskatchewan are iZEV-eligible EVs. That’s 93 vehicles through the end of August, 24 of which are Hyundai Kona EVs. The Kona’s big brother, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, ranks second with 22 deliveries.
Keyword: Driving By Numbers: Best-selling electric vehicle in every Canadian province