Vehicle Emissions

Significant progress has been made in reducing the GHG and criteria emissions from the light and heavy duty on-road vehicle fleets and progress will continue with the actions that have been and will be taken over the coming years by the automobile industry. The Government of Canada has mandated and revised a number of extremely stringent regulations which are aligned with the U.S. (recognizing the highly integrated market) to address motor vehicle emissions on a national basis including:

  • On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations – Tier 2 – 2004-2016 model years
  • Passenger Car and Light Duty Truck GHG Emission Regulations – 2011–2016 model years
  • Heavy Duty Vehicle & Engine GHG Emission Regulations – 2014–2018 model years
  • Passenger Car and Light Duty Truck GHG Emission Regulations – 2017–2025 model years
  • On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations – Tier 3 – 2017-2025 model years
  • Heavy Duty Vehicle & Engine GHG Emission Regulations – 2019–2027 model years (in development)

While at the same time also meeting increasingly stringent vehicle safety regulations.

Canadians can now purchase the vehicles that are cleanest in the world in terms of criteria air contaminants (smog-related emissions).

Since the mid-1980’s vehicle manufacturers have met increasingly more stringent smog-related emission requirements each year. In 2004, Canada adopted the most stringent national smog-related emissions standards in the world on a harmonized basis with the United States (Tier 2), thereby reducing emissions by 99% from pre-control. Commencing in 2017, even more stringent smog-related standards, the new Tier 3 emissions and fuels regulations will reduce these small remaining emissions by yet another 80% (see Figure 3). These standards are fuel neutral, which means each vehicle must comply with the same smog-related standards regardless of the fuel used. As a result of these previous accomplishments and planned additional actions, the light duty vehicle sector has been the only sector to reduce smog-causing emissions year over year. These virtually zero smog-related emission vehicles will be supported in the market place with ultra-low sulphur gasoline (10 ppm sulphur), both of which contribute significantly to achieving these dramatic vehicle emission reductions.