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ACCELERATE ZEV | SPRING 2025 PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY

What Canadians Think About the ZEV Supply Chain

And Why It Matters

Insights Credit:

This spring, as part of our ConnectZEV initiative, Accelerate ZEV engaged Environics Research to survey over 2000 Canadians to gain insight into their perceptions of our county’s emerging zero-emission vehicle supply chain, including critical mineral and battery development. If we want Canadians to share our vision and enthusiasm for a prosperous and sustainable automotive future, we need to understand how they see this emerging industry and its potential benefits to them and their communities.

Here’s what the research told us:

Most Canadians are on board with the idea of building a ZEV supply chain. In fact,two-thirds or more support everything from critical mineral mining to battery and vehicle manufacturing. But fewer than one in three feels strongly about it. This tells us that support is there but that it’s soft and could swing either way, depending on how the story is told. This means that now is the time to take control of the narrative – that despite market and political challenges, Canadians are open to developing big projects that will make us relevant and competitive in the auto sector of the future . How this is positioned (jobs, industrial growth and economic sovereignty, etc,) will be vital to continuing to build segments of a ZEV supply chain that will give Canada the competitive advantages it needs in the auto sector of the future.

A clear compelling story is needed to achieve the kind of public support that would meaningfully position the ZEV industry as an obvious and essential investment priority for government. Only three in ten Canadians think there’s significant progress happening on a national ZEV supply chain. Many people see Canada falling behind global leaders like the US, Europe, or China. 70%  agree we should be investing in this space, with almost 20% saying it should be a top national priority.

There’s a broad sense that a domestic ZEV industry can bring jobs, boost trade, and reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers. But the understanding drops off when it comes to the local picture. What does this mean for my community? My province? My job? The answers aren’t landing yet. This is an important opportunity to shape the narrative about the future of Canada’s ZEV industry and, indeed, the future of Canada’s auto sector—that it can expand beyond traditional auto production and involve more segments of the economy like mining, battery development, etc., more regions of the country and, if we get this right, more people working in well-paid jobs.

Economic and national security angles tend to resonate a bit more than environmental or community-based messages. But no single argument stood out above the rest. That means we can’t rely on a one-size-fits-all message. Instead, we need to tailor how we talk about the ZEV economy to match different audiences and priorities.

Support is strongest among Canadians under 30 and in regions with more visible auto-sector and battery development presence like Ontario and Quebec. Albertans and Conservative voters are less enthusiastic about the broader ZEV economy, but many support critical minerals. That’s an important foothold and shows we have shared values to build on. To continue building this supply chain, it will be crucial to connect the regional development and job creation that accompanies minerals processing and extraction, to a broader national project of ZEV industrial growth.