Supersized American cars shouldn’t be a barrier to Canadians getting some great European options - Why are we banning small cars from being sold in Canada?

“The certification requirements of other jurisdictions may not be sufficient to meet the safety needs of Canadian road users due to Canada’s distinct driving environment,” wrote Sau Sau Liu, senior communications advisor for Transport Canada, adding that Canadian crash safety standards are tailored to the larger vehicles typically found on our roads.

We already have Vespas and Smart Fortwos. I think we'll be okay.

And motorbikes...

The desire to carry water for American companies or European companies by excluding China is strange. Aus doesn't play that game. Trying to be protectionist on dead end ICE manufacturing capability will only serve to put them deeper and deeper into the grave that they want to share with the US.

I think that anybody who's trying to protect ICE manufacturing should take a hard look at what happened in China. They literally killed their ICE manufacturing with their new energy vehicle push. Absolutely gutted it. And they're reaping the rewards of doing so.

Chinese vehicles are built with subsidies and sometimes even slave labor to flood the market at artificially low prices.
- When the west does it it's called freedom but when China foes it it'd called artificial tyranny.
- Source for that?
- The tech and production capacity is good, there just needs to be stricter oversight because at this moment there are no other producers of low cost EVs and I don't really care if they're subsidized when the other players on the market are 15 years behind.
- American ICE manufacturers received way more subsidies than Chinese EV manufacturers.
- oh noes please save me from the being offered the chance to buy modern, well built, and affordable EVs 😢
  One more oversized gas guzzler for maximum price please. And shaft me on the services too.

Why should I be restricted from driving a reasonable vehicle just because everyone else wants to drive an assault vehicle?

not to mention that you're punished for it if you don't buy a high riding vehicle, because every other vehicle nowadays has weaponized headlights for lowbeams
- And a weaponized front end that makes collisions with smaller cars more deadly for the smaller car
- They hit me right in the eyes even when I'm driving a heavy truck.
There should be an immediate ban on assault style vehicles and all vehicles sold with black metal panels instead of wood. Fuel tanks should be restricted to 300km and transmissions should be manual not automatic!
Shit, actually I would kill for a tiny, wood paneled, stick shift car...
wow, guess I have to add an /s to this
- The fuel tank restriction could actually be dangerous for extremely rural parts of Canada. I've been stuck for over 7 hours on a rural highway in yhe winter.
- I get the other points but why wood panels? Seems like an aesthetic choice really. Don't force PT cruisers on everyone, that's too cruel.

I would love to have a small electric vehicle, as most of my driving is done inside a small city. The choices are limited and too expensive for my budget.

Bolt euv is relatively low cost. You can get one used for even less
- Way too expensive still. And the equinox ev was supposed to be lower msrp than the bolt then they release it at $45-$50k msrp 🤦‍♂️

I would like an armoured bicycle

Doug ford will make that illegal because motorist are worried their paint would get scratched by the armored bike instead of the blood stains from unarmored bikes.
- Douggie can go fuck himself in the ear!
Armour defeats the purpose of a bicycle, which is being nimble
I would like an armed bicycle

Protectionism so we grow weak and fail 🥰🥰🥰

Don't learn from history, Detroit was a one-off right?

A contributing factor may be the number of American car companies with factories here—I mean, there are a few European/Japanese/whatever auto brands that do some manufacturing here too, but not as much. It's an industry that seems to have a political voice that's larger than its contribution to the national economy (or at least, that's the impression one gets from the news here in Ontario). Lobbying to tweak the rules to make certification easier for American vehicles than others seems on-brand.

If that is part of the reason, Trump may have torpedoed it, but it'll take years for the mess to untangle itself even so.

It's not just you, it's part of what feeds into the western province grievance thing.
- What's to be aggrieved about? I've never once heard the auto industry being a factor in western alienation. And I've written papers on the subject.
  The auto industry is Canada's largest manufacturing industry, contributing more than $15B to GDP and 500,000 good paying jobs. There's good reason to protect it.

I am guessing Canadians love big trucks, jacked up?

Yup. The Ford F-series trucks are the best selling car in Canada. Gotta brave those dangerous wide suburban roads to get to the rugged Walmart and haul toilet paper.
- Adult men require gender affirming vehicles
  The pavement Princess!
Fair guess. Some Canadians, but not all.

They have to meet the joint North American standards regardless. Even the Honda Fit is no longer sold in North America because they figured it wasn't worth putting through the paces. I thought that would be the subcompact car that survived, but no.