HALIFAX — As Ottawa incentivizes Canadians to buy electric vehicles or hybrids, Nova Scotia is making it more expensive to drive them.

Nova Scotia’s budget on Monday includes a $500 fee for electric vehicles and $250 fee for hybrids — to be paid every two years.

Ottawa, meanwhile, has started offering incentives of up to $5,000 to buy electric cars and up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Sal Falk lives in a rural community on Nova Scotia’s South Shore and owns an electric car.

She says the levy is “absurd” and punishes Nova Scotians who have chosen to drive low-emission vehicles.

Provincial officials say the levy ensures electric and hybrid car owners are contributing to road maintenance, as gas-reliant drivers are already contributing to roads through the provincial tax on fuel.

The province estimates the fees will raise $1.6 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year and $3.3 million in 2027-28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2026.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press