2019 Liberal Budget: $5,000 Electric Vehicle Incentive; High-Speed Internet for All by 2030

The Liberal government has announced its 2019 budget, which is chock-full of spending, claiming it will help middle-class Canadians.

A couple of highlights worth noting include electric vehicle purchase incentives and also high-speed internet for all Canadians.

According to the 2019 Liberal government budget, they will spend $130 million to build out recharging and refuelling stations across the country:

Natural Resources Canada with $130 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, to deploy new recharging and refuelling stations in workplaces, public parking spots, commercial and multi-unit residential buildings, and remote locations.

The federal government also proposes $300 million over three years—starting in 2019-2020—to “introduce a new federal purchase incentive of up to $5,000 for electric battery or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of less than $45,000.”

No other details were provided, other than “program details to follow.” The new program is aimed to incentive Canadians to purchase more zero-emission vehicles.

Another proposal calls for $5 million over five years, starting in 2019-2020, to let Transport Canada “work with auto manufacturers to secure voluntary zero-emission vehicle sales targets to ensure that vehicle supply meets increased demand.”

High-Speed Internet for All Canadians by 2030

As previously reported, the 2019 Liberal Budget included a section about implementing high-speed internet for 100% of Canadians by 2030. This will come at a cost of $5 to $6 billion over 10 years.

This universal high-speed internet is defined as speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. The budget calls for 95% of Canadian homes and businesses to achieve this speed minimum by 2026, while by 2030, 100% of Canadians “no matter where they are located in the country.”

The next Canadian federal election takes place on October 21, 2019.

Click here to read Budget 2019, titled “Investing in the Middle Class,” at 464 pages.