Rough-ins for EVs in new builds was the easiest mistake not to make, but the Ford government made it anyway
Why will Doug Ford give billions and billions of tax dollars — on top of the federal government doing the same — to make electric vehicles here at home, but not do even the basic — and I do mean basic — step of getting our infrastructure ready for the future as he is defining it?
The whole job of politicians — leaders — is to lead to the future. They are tasked with taking a long view, resisting knee-jerk responses that put out tiny fires while enormous ones are threatening. If Doug Ford wants to be a man of vision, a man who can commit billions to the “cars of the future,” why can’t he go one step further, and understand that Ontario consumers will be driving those cars of the future?
This is a man who palpably wants electric cars to reign in his kingdom, right? Committing billions of tax dollars to chase the future, to secure the future for your constituents takes a shrewd set of steely nerves. It takes an ability to consider thousands of moving parts, forecast global policies that are always shifting and weigh all of that against predicting — and protecting — consumers. Ford had initially tossed in a billion — total — for the first two plants. With intense pressure from incentives being made to automakers in the U.S., things were moving fast.
No rough-ins for EVs in new builds
Here’s the thing for the naysayers when it comes to electric vehicles: I’m not saying anyone is going to take your ICE from your cold dead hands. New car dealers in North America are screeching hard against a 2035 mandate that may or may not be met. But there is math behind the adoption of new tech, and “the trajectory laid out by these early adopters shows how EVs can surge from five per cent to 25 per cent of new cars in just four years.” Remember the microwave? That took 20 years to gain the trust of popcorn makers everywhere.
He sighed when I asked about the recent punt by the province on EV rough-ins on new builds. “At build is the absolute cheapest way. It’s also a critical thing, and the slight cost will significantly increase the value of the home. MLS listings are already noting EV chargers; buyers are seeking them. Progressive builders will be looking to future-proof their buildings — and that includes making them EV-ready,” he says.
So builders who are looking at things like ‘generational’ and ‘decades and decades down the road” should be — and will be — doing this anyway. Competent government directives would mean all of us should have access to this, if we’re to buy the vehicles our tax dollars will be funding for years to come.
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