Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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HALIFAX — Nova Scotia has become the latest province to scrap electric vehicle rebates for Teslas due to the CEO’s association with the U.S. administration and its trade war on Canada.
The Progressive Conservative government joined with the NDP and Liberal opposition parties in a vote on Friday to drop the automaker from the rebate program, which provides subsidies that range from $2,000 to $3,000 per purchase.
The vote came after Susan Leblanc, an NDP member of the legislature, called for an amendment dropping the Elon Musk-led company’s products from the subsidy program.
Leblanc told the legislature that the owner of Tesla has aligned himself with U.S. president Donald Trump in “waging economic war on our country and this is a small way to take a stand against that.”
“There are other options for us here in Canada for electric vehicles,” she said.
Earlier this week, Manitoba’s NDP government dropped Tesla and Chinese-made electric vehicles from its EV rebate program, while BC Hydro has also said it is banning new Tesla products from its own rebate initiative. .
The Crown corporation’s website says the change would cover Tesla chargers, batteries and inverters and is part of the government’s move to give preference to Canadian goods and exclude U.S. ones from rebates if practical.
Tesla’s communications division didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Nova Scotia’s vote.
Musk has evolved into a close ally and adviser to Trump, who has ordered 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and intends to apply additional levies on April 2.
The billionaire businessman heads the Department of Government Efficiency and has been tied to controversies that included publicly voicing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany and trying to access the personal data of millions of Americans in his group’s efforts to slash government spending.
Musk’s role in the administration is also prompting demonstrations outside Tesla outlets across the country.
Protesters carrying signs such as “Honk if you’re not driving a Tesla” and “Elbows up Canada” picketed a dealership in Ottawa recently, while there have been similar protests at dealerships in Quebec and British Columbia.
In Vancouver, police said last month that they were investigating a case of vandalism of a dealership, in which an obscene remark about the billionaire was spray-painted on an exterior wall.
In the United States, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.
Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman in February with attacks on Tesla dealerships, including throwing Molotov cocktails at vehicles and spray painting a building. In addition, federal agents in South Carolina last week arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston.
Tesla shares have been struggling due to increased competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China, falling 42 per cent so far this year.
Tesla does not release sales figures for Canada but rebate data from Transport Canada’s zero-emission vehicle program suggests about 33,000 Teslas received rebates for new purchases in the nine months ending Dec. 31. On a per-month basis, that is down about 15 per cent compared to the approximately 50,000 Teslas that received the rebates in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2025.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
