November, 2025 – The federal Canadian government is expected to unveil proposed changes to its electric vehicle sales mandate this winter. The upcoming announcement comes as Canada’s 2026 Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate – requiring 20 percent of new light-vehicle sales to be electric – faces mounting evidence it was unlikely ever to be met, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute.
In “Mandating the Impossible? Assessing Canada’s Electric Vehicle Mandate for 2026 and Beyond,” Brian Livingston, at the C.D. Howe Institute, finds that the policy’s trajectory remains unrealistic beyond 2026. “Even if incentives return, the targets far exceed what consumers are willing or able to buy,” says Livingston. “Mandates alone won’t generate the demand or the vehicles needed to meet these goals.”
The analysis shows that under the 2026 requirement, automakers collectively would have had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to comply. Companies falling short of their targets could face over $200 million in penalties to generate “Charging Fund Credits,” along with unknown additional costs to purchase “Excess Credits” from firms such as Tesla and Hyundai. To meet compliance thresholds, manufacturers might have been forced to restrict non-ZEV sales, reducing total vehicle supply by more than 400,000 units – leaving significant consumer demand unmet.
Meanwhile, companies exceeding the 20 percent target – primarily foreign-based automakers – would benefit from windfall revenues by selling excess credits. Canadian-based producers such as GM, Ford, Toyota, Stellantis, and Honda, which manufacture domestically, would bear higher costs and face reduced competitiveness.
Federal officials recently noted that the government’s highly anticipated review of the ZEV mandate – launched after Prime Minister Mark Carney paused the 2026 target in September – will report back this winter and unveil proposed changes to targets and credit rules.
Livingston recommends that Ottawa either abandon or substantially revise the ZEV mandate. Options include revising percentage targets to align with market realities, counting increasingly popular hybrid vehicles toward compliance, redirecting credit proceeds to the federal government, or suspending the mandate until trade negotiations with the United States and China clarify the future of Canada’s auto sector.
“The waiver of the 2026 target is only a first step,” Livingston cautions. “Unless the policy is recalibrated to reflect consumer demand and production capacity, Canada’s ZEV mandate risks driving up costs, shrinking supply, and undermining competitiveness – without delivering meaningful emissions reductions.”
Grove, Oxfordshire UK: Williams Racing, one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, commits to a far-reaching climate change target. Building on the progress the global motorsport industry has made on sustainability in recent years, Williams Racing goes further than any other race team or motor racing series in the world, to commit to becoming climate positive by 2030.
To achieve this ambitious goal, Williams Racing has developed a series of robust technological and data driven initiatives, as part of a comprehensive purpose driven sustainability strategy, aiming to address some of the most important environmental and societal challenges facing Formula One, global sport and the planet.
The Williams Racing Sustainability Strategy, which has been developed over the course of the last year after extensive expert analysis, is based around five key pillars: Climate Action, Biodiversity Stewardship, Sustainable Innovation, Industry Access for All and Purpose Driven Leadership. Each pillar defines actions that Williams will be taking in the short and medium term to accelerate the transition to a better planet. Adding further transparency and accountability, each objective will be measured, audited and annually reported.
Williams is committed to learning and sharing best practices from all sectors and adhering to international initiatives. Accordingly, this strategy brings its emissions reduction target in line with the below 2 degrees Celsius target of the Paris Climate Agreement and UN Climate Change Global Agenda. Williams Racing is now the first Formula One Team to be a signatory of the UNFCCC, UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. In addition, Williams Racing Sustainability objectives are aligned with 12 of the 17 United Nations Development Goals (SDGs). Williams Racing is also aligned with industry specific standards and has recently gained FIA Three-star environmental accreditation.
Jost Capito, CEO, Williams Racing: “Williams Racing is a pioneer in Formula One and the racing world and has a strong heritage developing Formula One technology and transferring it to the EV and sustainable transport and energy sectors. We are living in a time when our planet and society is changing faster than ever. Building on the progress the global motorsport industry has made on sustainability in recent years, we have taken time to thoroughly analyse our entire operation and develop a comprehensive purpose driven, Sustainability Strategy to accelerate our sustainable transformation. As a team, we wanted to push the envelope and be the pace setter for sustainability in global motorsport and in the wider automotive industry. So today we are making the commitment to be climate positive by 2030 and we will be using our knowledge to nurture and develop advanced technology to meet this goal.
“We know where we are strong and understand where improvement is required and we are open to learning from others and sharing best practices in pursuit of our ambitious objectives. To help raise the baseline of sustainable performance in our industry, we welcome interaction and partnerships with key motorsport stakeholders, automotive companies, brands and organisations who share our vision.”
“As a huge global sporting platform, Formula One has the power to inspire millions of people across the world and as the pinnacle of so many advanced technologies, Formula One has the ability to create technical solutions to help tackle the challenges we face as a planet. As we progress towards our goal to be climate positive in the years ahead, my hope is that Williams Racing can inspire all those connected with our sport and beyond, using motorsport as a catalyst for significant and long-lasting change.”
The five key pillars of the Williams Racing Sustainability Strategy
Climate Action, covers the strategy and targets for how the team will reduce carbon emissions for travel and energy consumption at HQ, reduce waste and water usage and over time create its own energy, on its journey to becoming climate positive.
Biodiversity Stewardship, covers the strategy and targets for how the team protect and preserve the biodiversity on the 60 acres of the HQ campus, including the Letcombe Brook – one of only 240 chalk streams in the world.
Sustainable Innovation, covers the strategy and targets to foster sustainable and innovative solutions that tackle global challenges in and outside of F1™. This includes Williams Racing undertaking full life cycle management of its racing cars, deploying circular economy strategies within the team and being actively involved in projects such as carbon capture technologies.
Industry Access for All, covers the strategy and targets to make motorsport more accessible by creating an environment in which anyone can thrive, and a workforce that reflects our community through academy programmes, scholarships and Esports.
Purpose Driven Leadership, covers the strategy and targets for Williams Racing to act as pace setters for sustainability within the motorsport industry. Building a strong, transparent and accountable culture in our team, at races, with our partners, suppliers, local community and fans.
Lindita Xhaferi-Slihu, Sector Engagement in Climate Action, Lead, from the UNFCCC commented “We are pleased to welcome Williams Racing as a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. The team is the first Formula One Team joining the Framework, sending a clear signal on the growing importance of setting clear climate targets and of using the sport and technologies as a catalyst for change. We look forward to working together with Williams Racing to deliver on the goals of the Framework.”
The Williams Racing Sustainability Strategy was developed with support from Enovation Consulting, a purpose driven sustainability and strategic management agency.
About Williams Racing
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited’s core competencies are the design and development of racing cars to compete in the Formula One World Championship. As one of the world’s leading Formula One teams, the company has secured 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles since its foundation in 1977. Nine of these titles have been won in the Constructors’ Championship in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. The remaining seven titles were won in the Drivers’ Championship with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
About Enovation Consulting
Enovation Consulting is a purpose-driven sustainability and strategic management agency with the mission to drive positive and meaningful changes through sport. We deliver creative and innovative research-based solutions that empower our clients to integrate sustainability into their business strategies – delivering on their short, medium and long-term ESG goals.
About UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework
The UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework is the UN Climate Change initiative, a climate action for sport movement of sports organizations and their stakeholders. This initiative aims at supporting and guiding sports actors in achieving global climate change goals, offering a forum where participants can pursue climate action in a consistent and mutually supportive fashion by learning from each other, disseminating good practices, lessons learned, developing new tools, and collaborating on areas of mutual interest. Signatories commit to a series of principles and goals which are incorporated into their strategies, policies and procedures.
