2022 Battery Electric Vehicles Canada

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2022

The 2022 year did not bring a lot of new models to Canadian shores. It did, however, see a lot of unveilings from various brands. It also marked the opening of General Motors Canada’s first full-scale electric vehicle manufacturing plant, a major amendment to the United States electric vehicle tax credit bill, and several other events to be covered within this write-up.

Buy American Becomes Buy North American

Back in 2021, Canada sounded the alarm when Canadians learned that the United States electric vehicle tax credit bill would only pertain to vehicles built within the United States Of America. Canadian leaders and workers were fearful that it would result in American brands closing factories in Canada to move to the United States, causing thousands to lose their jobs. In 2022, United States Democrats Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin have agreed to propose to get rid of the tax-credit plan that favoured American-made electric vehicles. Instead, the Senate majority leader and the West Virginia moderate are proposing an amendment to Joe Biden’s climate and health bill that would expand the credits to include all of North America.

While this may have breathed a sigh of relief for stakeholders, politicians, leaders, and manufacturers, a major problem still remains: lack of Canadian-born and built electric vehicle companies in Canada. As AK Motors CEO Kaminski warned Trudeau in a statement last year, Canada cannot continue to be 100% reliant on building vehicles for foreign companies, as they can change things as they best see fit. The 2024 U.S. elections for example, could end up changing the course of trade, should the future President choose not to care about Canada and other countries very much.

Canada’s First Full-scale Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Plant

On December 05, 2022, the Prime Minister Of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced the opening of the GM CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. The first full-scale commercial electric vehicle plant in the country. The CAMI assembly plant was retooled to make the BrightDrop Zevo 600. The BrightDrop Zevo 600 is an electric light commercial vehicle that is powered by Ultium batteries and Ultium drive motors and purpose-built for the delivery of goods and services. The estimated range is said to be 400 kilometres on a full charge. Interestingly, it was only 8 months ago that the government announced investments to retool the CAMI EV assembly plant in Ingersoll.

20% Of New Vehicles Sold In Canada By 2026 Must Be Zero Emission Vehicles

On December 21, 2022, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that the Government of Canada has published proposed regulations that set ZEV sales targets for manufacturers and importers of new passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. The regulations will require that at least 20% of new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2026, at least 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. These targets will help increase supply so that more Canadians who want a ZEV can buy one. In addition to making sure there are more ZEVs to buy, the Government also announced the following investments to make buying and charging an electric vehicle easier for Canadians:

• Invested in 50,000 more electric vehicle charging stations across the country, for almost 85,000 federally-funded chargers across Canada by 2027. This is in addition to charging stations supported by provincial governments and the private sector.
• Renewed the program that provides Canadians up to $5,000, and businesses up to $10,000, toward the cost of buying or leasing a ZEV. Over 180,000 individuals and businesses have taken advantage of this program to date.
• Making historic investments in electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada, which will mean made-in-Canada ZEVs by Canadian auto workers and for Canadian drivers to buy.

Danielle Smith Wants To “Protect” Alberta From Electric Vehicles

On December 22, 2022, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith made 3 Tweets in regards to Canada’s battery electric vehicle plans, particularly the 2026 mandate:

1. The Liberal-NDP plan to outlaw non-electric vehicles will drive up vehicle costs and take away your freedom to choose what vehicle makes sense for you and your family.

2. It will also cost billions of your taxes to upgrade the grid in a very short period of time, increasing your electricity costs and potentially impacting grid stability.

3. Electric, diesel, and gas powered vehicles are all choices Albertans should have depending on their personal needs, budgets, and circumstances. As Premier, I will make sure you have a choice when it comes to the vehicle you drive- the NDP and Liberals can butt out. 

Comments such as these coming from a Premier are troubling. Not only are these comments false, but ironically would suffocate Alberta and cause it to fall behind in a global push forwards. An opposing critic had also called her out for trying to make something that is not a real problem, look like a problem, while ignoring real problems happening right now with the faltering healthcare system, wages not matching inflation, homelessness, and several others.

Debunking These Harmful Myths 1-by-1

1. Outlawing combustion engine vehicles will not drive up vehicle costs. If anything, as more and more electric cars are being produced from major giants like General Motors, Ford, Honda, and others, especially under their non-luxury brands, the costs of electric vehicles are actually going down. Consumers no longer have to buy a Tesla if they need something with a range of 400 kilometres or greater. Pickup trucks, sedans, and crossovers — all can be had in all-electric form, making the remark about being unable to choose a vehicles that makes sense for your family false. 

2. “Billions” is a greatly exaggerated figure. Would have been true if Alberta were starting from scratch with the deployment of stations. However, this is absolutely not the case. As of January 2022, Alberta has 255 charging stations throughout the province. On top of this, the government has even given them millions to setup stations for electric vehicles. Making it look as though Albertans were going to bare the brunt of this burden alone is straight up false. The grid will not become damaged either. Alberta has more than enough time and resources to improve the grid. If the province were to take Smith’s to heart, then the province will fall into an actual crisis on top of already existing problems.

3. Internal combustion vehicles, whether people want to accept it or not, are mechanically inferior to all-electric vehicles. This alone could be an entire article, but in short, the absence of the engine and all its complex parts and piping, means far fewer maintenance, reliability, and long-term savings. And no hazardous tailpipe emissions. As already mentioned, there are already numerous sizes, classes, and price points of all-electric vehicles for consumers to choose. The remark about how she wants the Liberal and New Democratic Party to butt out, only proves the opposing critics right about her making unnecessary noise about something that is not a problem, while not focusing on actual problems happening.

Alberta Can Do It

Alberta has the fourth largest fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) in Canada behind Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. The availability of reliable charging infrastructure is a key factor in electric vehicle adoption. Alberta is a land very rich in resources. It even has the potential to become an electric vehicle powerhouse, thanks to its richness. However, if people are fed with fake propaganda, believe it in it, and act upon it, this will gravely hurt Alberta’s innovation and growth to match forward-moving provinces, and the rest of the world.

Project Arrow

On October 19, 2022, APMA revealed a peek of the Project Arrow’s skeleton to attendees of its 70th annual conference in Windsor, Ontario. APMA plans a global reveal at the 2023 CES annual trade show in Las Vegas. The burning question during the conference has been answered: will the Arrow see full-scale production or not? Flavio Volpe says the possibility of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or investor with deep pockets to sweep in and commit to mass produce the Arrow is not 0, but at this moment nothing is in the works. Volpe insists Arrow’s purpose is to act as a demonstration model of Canadian potential and talent, rather than a tool to entice manufacturers to start scaling — which, he believes, could cost a billion dollars.

While developing and making cars is no cheap task, Canada has plenty of affluent OEMs and investors that can easily fund mass-scale production. It is only a matter of will. If the Project was attractive to the point that APMA had to choose 58 Canadian industry partners out of 534 applicants, then there is certainly an interested investor and OEM watching and willing to produce it. Who will it be? 2023 will hopefully reveal. If the vehicle is a success at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show, it will make it all the more likely for the Arrow to become a production car.

AK Motor

May 30, 2022, The Maple Majestic brand of AK Motors unveiled a video of a variant of their namesake car, then an official media statement the following day. This concept variant is called the Maple Majestic Kombi-Kross. The objective is to offer supreme winter handling capabilities and off-road attributes while providing additional storage space for longer trips. The startup’s statement also mentions that several more body configurations based on the existing concepts will be presented in the coming months as well as the technologies behind these vehicles. Between then and now, December 2022, no other concepts have been revealed. Could this mean a pickup truck concept in 2023? Time will tell. Given that there is not even a functional prototype of the original model, AK Motor may be better off creating a working prototype first, before exploring other concepts. If they manage to pull off both for 2023, then that would surely be an interesting surprise for the Canadian automotive industry.

New To Canada For 2022

• Kia EV6
• BMW i4
• BMW iX
• Volvo C40 Recharge
• Rivian R1T and R1S *first deliveries to employees in Vancouver*
• Toyota bZ4X *2023 bZ4X has limited inventory and is only available at select authorized dealers in British Columbia and Quebec* -Toyota Canada as of December 2022
• Genesis GV60

Emerging Technology

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Defining Emerging Technology

The words “Emerging Technology” suggests that it would mean technology recently coming out. This is partially true, as it usually does refer to a new technology, but it can also refer to the continuing development of an existing technology. The electric vehicle sector is a fine example of this. Though many would think of electric cars as luxurious, plush, and ultra modern, the first electric car debuted back in 1832. Though it was a very rough and impractical vehicle, it was still a real electric vehicle. Fast forward to the 21st century, the technology becomes immensely popular during the late 2010s, with the 2020s causing major legacy brands to drastically increase their electrification strategies. There are many technologies and ideas that can be explored, but the following shall be the focus for this write-up:

• Biometrics
• Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
• Lyme Disease Vaccine
• 3D Printed Houses
• Air Fryer
• Plastic-eating Organisms
• Solid State Batteries
• Recycling Car Batteries 
• All-electric Aircraft
• 5G
• Linux Smartphones
• Solar-powered Smartphones

Biometrics

Fingerprint scanning, eye scanning, hand ID, and voice unlock all have something in common: they are all biometrics. For a long time, passwords or keys have generally been the way of safeguarding accounts, smartphones, and other confidential properties. Biometrics are biological characteristics that can be used to identify individuals. These can be biological biometrics such as blood or DNA; Morphological biometrics like fingerprints, eyes, and the shape of a person’s face; or behavioral biometrics like how a person may speak, walk, or type. Authentication by biometric verification is becoming increasingly common in corporate and public security systems, consumer electronics, and point-of-sale applications. In addition to security, another major reason for the use of biometric verification has been convenience, since there are no passwords to remember or security tokens to carry.

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. This in turn affects thinking, behaviour, and the ability to carry out tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80% of all diagnoses. However, this does not mean that if a person has dementia, that they have Alzheimer’s. Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms caused by physical disorders affecting the brain. Though Alzheimer’s has been in existence for a while, it has only been the last 20 years that science is finally making serious discoveries towards dealing with the disease. In 2021, two notable drugs are being examined: A vaccine involving Protollin and Aducanumab.

On November 17, 2021, researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been given permission to launch clinical trials into a nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. The new vaccine uses Protollin, which activates the immune system, and is being created to prevent and slow the disease progression. Made of proteins drawn from bacteria, Protollin activates white blood cells in the lymph nodes in the neck, and sends them to the brain to clear beta-amyloid plaques. The single ascending dose (SAD) trial will involve 16 subjects aged between 60 and 85 years with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

On June 07, 2021, The US Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of Aducanumab (Aduhelm). The drug was approved under the Accelerated Approval pathway, one of the alternative drug approval pathways. However, this drug is controversial given that not all Dementia experts agreed on its unproven benefits. The accelerated process allows Biogen to sell the drug, but must agree to design and carry out a study to prove that there is a clinical benefit. The federal agency’s decision was based on the biomarker changes showing that the monoclonal antibody reduced amyloid-beta from the brain. It could take years to accumulate concrete data, and if it does not have a clinical benefit, the FDA can withdraw approval of the drug.

Lyme Disease Vaccine

On December 21, 1998, the FDA approved LYMErix, a vaccine created to help prevent Lyme Disease: an inflammatory disease characterized at first by a rash, headache, fever, chills, and later by possible arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders, caused by bacteria that are transmitted by ticks. Unfortunately, the vaccine had 5 major problems:

1. The vaccine efficacy of <80% meant that 20% of fully vaccinated individuals could still get Lyme Disease
2. Achieving full protection required three vaccine doses given at the time of the initial dose, and 1 month and 12 months after the initial dose.
3. The vaccine safety and efficacy database lacked tests in young children, a population at high risk of developing Lyme Disease.
4. The vaccine was only effective against the predominant North American Borrelia strain without necessarily conferring protection against international subspecies.
5. Within a year of licensure, reports of adverse reactions occurring after vaccination started to appear. This continued for the next few years and involved numerous high-profile complaints.

On July 09, 2003 the pharmaceutical giant settled the class action suits with Sheller, Ludwig & Bailey as well as several other smaller law firms. The Lyme Disease vaccine was then pulled off the market. 

 In April 2020 Valneva and Pfizer entered into a collaboration agreement to co-develop the multivalent protein subunit candidate VLA15. The program had earlier been granted Fast Track designation by the US FDA in July 2017.The vaccine covers six serotypes that are prevalent in North America and Europe. It attacks the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia, an established mechanism of action for a Lyme disease vaccine. OspA is one of the most dominant surface proteins expressed by the bacteria when present in a tick. Valneva and Pfizer say that VLA15 has demonstrated ‘strong immunogenicity and safety data in pre-clinical and clinical studies so far,’.

3D Printed Houses

The concept of 3D printing has been thought of since the 1970’s. It was not until 1981 that the first experiments began. Since then, there has been hundreds of different objects that have been 3D printed including cups, tools, instruments, and more. One particular area that is still very young with the potential of immense benefits is 3D construction. The great benefits of 3D printing houses can be particularly seen in developing countries, where transporting expensive materials may be cost-prohibitive. With 3D printing, it can allow them the build houses using locally sourced materials to reduce the impact of shipping, handling, and other logistical issues. It is not only developing countries interested, however. Countries like Canada and the United States have been interested, too. The United States has even gone as far as to announce that it will be building the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood in Austin, Texas in 2022.

While it may sound exciting to some, there a still caveats involved like the fact that there are several parts of the house that cannot be 3D printed: Windows, toilets and fixtures, are some of several. Then there is also the issue of structural stability and durability of the 3D printed components, hence why 3D printed houses may face legal issues in areas with strict building codes.

Air Fryer

An air fryer is a small countertop convection oven designed to simulate deep frying without submerging the food in oil. A fan circulates hot air at high speed, then produces a crispy layer. The reason the popularity of these types of ovens is surging is because of the health benefits and claims they bring: the flavour of fried foods without all the calories and fats of found in deep fried food. While the amount of fat and calories reduced will vary from food to food, it has been consistently proven that they do noticeably reduce fat and calories. While air fryers may have taken off greatly since their creation in 2010, they have a few main drawbacks: costlier, smaller, and thus require more space to prepare larger quantities of food. It should be also noted that air fried foods do not taste exactly the same as deep fried foods. Some people will even go as far to say that if flavour is top priority, that air fryers may not be the best choice. Despite these setbacks, they remain a growing popularity.

Plastic-eating Organisms

There are bacteria and fungi that can break down plastic. The problem is which species? Which types of plastic? And how fast can these organisms dissolve voluminous amounts of plastic? Not all plastics are made equal as some are tougher to break down, due their more industrialized compositions that are not found in nature. Ideonella sakaiensis, is only able to eat a particular kind of plastic called PET. Pestalotiopsis microspora and other fungi species are capable of breaking down polyurethane plastic. As concerns for the environment and waste reduction have grown immensely in recent years, the research for the best plastic-eating organisms has, too. Given that there are numerous organisms in nature that have been proven to be able to break down numerous plastics, it would be safer for scientist to go stick with the route of using existing species as opposed to trying to re-engineer bacteria with unintended consequences. This is a concern some have expressed, but even that too, needs to proven if it is true that the excessive use of re-engineered bacteria to eat plastics would truly cause problematic resistant bacteria to occur.

Solid State Batteries

The batteries present in most electronics and automobiles today are lithium-ion batteries. Unlike the lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries of the past, lithium-ion batteries are made with a liquid electrolyte to control the flow of energy between the cathode and anode. The advantages of a lithium-ion battery include longer battery life, greater performance in varying temperatures, recyclable components, and higher energy density. Despite the many benefits, there are drawbacks to lithium-ion batteries. Though lighter than older battery technologies, the liquid inside still make lithium-ions rather heavy. They also perform better when in stackable packs, which adds more bulk and weight. The electrolytes are also flammable, can be unstable in extreme temperatures, and lead to explosions or fires if damaged or improperly charged.

Solid State Batteries are the hot pursuit in battery technology for the 2020s. This is because Solid State Batteries use solid electrolyte, have higher energy density than a Li-ion batteries, faster charging, no fire or explosion risks, all while being smaller and more compact by default. With all the immense benefits that SSB offer, why then has it not found its way across smartphones and electric cars, yet? The answer is cost. Scaling up production to the level needed for usage in electric vehicles and other devices is presently extremely expensive. Despite the challenge, many companies including Ford, Volkswagen, Samsung and others have announced plans for the investment and development of this game-changing technology.

Recycling Car Batteries 

For some reason, some critics insist that electric vehicle batteries cannot be properly recycled and re-used. This is false. Tesla, Volkswagen, Nissan as well as several other third parties, have successfully managed to both recycle or extract components from batteries. As the race for electrification surges in the 2020s, there has been understandable concerns of what will happen to all the batteries from millions, eventually billions of vehicles across the world. Manufacturers are certainly aware of this, and are working to do their part to ensure that old batteries will not become useless, problematic pieces of waste.

All-electric Aircraft

Land vehicles are not the only machines going all-electric. Aircrafts are also heavy polluters, hence why there is a lot of effort also going towards making aircrafts zero-emission vehicles. While the automotive industry is moving faster, the aviation industry has not been asleep in regards to electrification. On September 15, 2021, Rolls-Royce announced through a Tweet about their all-electric airplane, Spirit Of Innovation, taking its first flight. 2 years before this, the world’s first commercial all-electric plane, the six-seater Harbour Air ePlane, performed a 15-minute trial flight in Richmond, British Columbia, on December 10, 2019. The development and production of zero-emission aircrafts is continuing strong.

5G

5G Ultra Wideband began rolling out on April 3, 2019. Though the technology to use it is available in many handsets released then and now, it has still yet to reach many places around the world to the extent that 4G currently has. 5G has been deployed in 60+ countries and counting, though not all cities in these countries have it, yet. What exactly is 5G and what makes it much more special than 4G? 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect nearly everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. The benefits?

• 5G is significantly faster than 4G
• 5G has more capacity than 4G
• 5G has significantly lower latency than 4G
• 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G
• 5G uses spectrum better than 4G

Linux Smartphones

At one point there were 4 major mobile operating systems: BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. Microsoft halted active development of Windows 10 Mobile back in 2017, before entirely discontinuing it on January 14, 2020. Similarly, BlackBerry has not developed BlackBerry 10 since 2017, and will be ultimately decommissioning the BlackBerry OS network on January 04, 2022. Where does this lead consumers who want an offering outside of Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS? Linux. While the present major contenders do not have handsets suitable for hard-core daily use, they exist for basic use: PinePhone from Pine64, and Librem 5 from Purism.

The first PinePhone was released in July 2020, with pre-orders for the newest PinePhone Pro available October 15, 2021. The Librem 5 released November 18, 2020. What makes these two handsets exciting, and potentially game-changing for consumers is their emphasis on privacy and the speed at which their operating systems are developing. The handsets both have physical hardware for shuttering their microphones, cameras, and Wi-fi, while their operating systems are open-sourced. In addition to all of this, both handsets also have headphone jacks, MicroSD card slots, and removable batteries — 3 features that have disappeared alarmingly fast from Android handsets, whose makers used to previously include these features in their past handsets. The displays on the PinePhone and Librem 5 also do not have notches or holepunches; a trait that a number of consumers strongly dislike.

Solar-powered Smartphones

Fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, vein reading, wireless charging, zooming lenses, 8K recording, and rapid charging are just some of the many advancements smartphones have seen in the last 5 years. One notable advancement not widely seen yet would be a solar-powered smartphone. While the idea of solar-powered smartphone sounds intriguing on paper, its usefulness would be limited in reality for a number of reasons: cost, complexity, and fragility.

Solar panels are still not inexpensive yet, and applying them to millions of smartphones would be extremely expensive. Durability and reliability would be the next points to be concerned about. Because a smartphone is used very often, and oftentimes dropped, bumped, and scuffed, the solar panels would have to be sturdy enough to withstand daily abuse, which is a complex challenge in its own right. The solar-powered phone’s body and internal components would also have to have high heat-resistance to withstand sunrays in case a user wants to charge their device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. For this reason alone, it would be far more sensible to wait until Solid State Batteries become mainstream in smartphones before making mass produced smartphones with solar panels. Certainly not all smartphone should, nor do they need to have solar panels. However, offering models that have them is a good offering for outdoor consumers that would love this feature.

Non-Automotive Companies Making Electric Cars

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

 

The Expected And Obvious

There are numerous automotive companies that solely specialize in electric vehicles: Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and others abroad. There are also numerous legacy automotive companies that do not specialize solely in electric vehicles. Much of these companies have since launched numerous electric models, with some going as far to announce that they plan to be entirely electric sometime within the 2020s decade. At this point in 2021, it should no longer come as a surprise if any legacy automaker decides to announce an electrified version of an iconic model of theirs. An all-electric Ford F-150? Old news. An all-electric Jaguar? Already on sale. An all-electric Ferrari? Yes, that too is happening in 2025. Should that shock traditionalists? Again, at this point in 2021, it should not even be a surprise if something wild, ultra exotic, and ever rarer than Ferrari such as Pagani, decides to come out and say that they want to do an all-electric car. Because they actually did. Yes, Horacio himself said it back in 2019 about developing an all-electric model. Basically, if a company makes cars, it is simply no longer a surprise. This leads to the next point of discussion: the unexpected. Or perhaps it would be better to say the non-automotive delving into the automotive.

Non-Automotive Companies Doing It

Apple would naturally be a first to discuss on a list of non-automotive companies getting involved with electric cars. With rumors of Apple making a car going as far back as 2014 or 2015,  it has now become more of a question as to when will they actually build the car, as opposed to believing that the Cupertino company does not and will not make cars. 2021 news has it that Apple had looked to form partnerships with established automakers, but discussions with several companies, including BMW Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Nissan, Toyota, and Magna International, but fell apart. It is now rumored that Apple will build the car alone. This is the best approach for the company, given that it would allow for far greater in-house control over things. Not to mention that with Apple being a trillionaire company, they are not short of resources or funding. If a far smaller company like Rimac was able to build their own car, Apple should be able to do far more with the resources it has. They likely would have been able to get started on their car far sooner, if they had not bothered with attempting to form unnecessary partnerships.

Sony is the next company worthy of mention. When people think of Sony, they likely think of premium headphones, smartphones, cameras, and PlayStations. This same Sony unveiled an electric sedan last year called Vision-S. The Sony Vision-S is an all-electric concept sedan that was developed by Sony and first unveiled at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show. The car subjectively resembles what a 4-door Pininfarina Battista mixed with Tesla Model S would look like. Despite the positive reception for it, Sony claimed in January 2021 it has no plans to mass-produce or sell its Vision-S concept, but is using the concept to test autonomous technology and experiment with PlayStation for cars. Sony did not entirely rule out the possibility of building cars, meaning that should it ever decide to make another model intended for production, or change its mind about the Vision-S, this would not come as a shocker. In fact, Journalists said that the real surprise to them was when Sony said that they would not put the car into production. This makes it clear that there are people that would buy this car, or that they are at least expecting Sony to enter the automotive sector after seeing them debut a car. Before CES, did anybody expect Sony to present a car? Likely not. Since 2020, this has certainly changed. People want to Sony to mass produce it. 

Xiaomi is the last non-automotive company that will be discussed in this write-up as a noteworthy company that is confirmed to enter the automotive sector. Out of the 3 discussed, it is the only one that formerly registered its electric vehicle company, Xiaomi EV Company. Should this come as a surprise? Unless unfamiliar with the company, absolutely not. Even then, it is hard to not be familiar with Xiaomi given that is is the second largest smartphone maker in the world, only behind Samsung. In fact, calling it a “smartphone maker” does not even it do it justice given that Xiaomi makes just about everything from its smartphones, clocks, speakers, scooters, Wi-fi routers, watches, powerbanks, monitors, televisions, keyboards, mice, and many more. Because of this, it should actually be seen as natural and expected that they would want to start making electric cars. If Apple is doing it, Sony tested it, and others possibly doing it, Xiaomi clearly did not want to waste time doubting its capabilities.

Theoretical & Predictions

For some companies, it is likely and expected to see them enter into the electric vehicle-making market. For others, it may not be so expected, but a complete shocker. Then there would be the category of simply just not likely to ever happen. 16 companies below shall be examined for the likelihood of their electric vehicle chances.

Royal Bank Of Canada

When Canadians think of the Royal Bank Of Canada, frequently referred to as simply RBC, the iconic blue, yellow, white, colour theme is instantly visualized. This should not even remotely be a surprise given that it is not only part of the big 5 banks in Canada, but is also the wealthiest of them, too. With a  reported net income of $4.3 billion for the quarter ended July 31, 2021, their cash reserve is immense. While cash is unlikely to be an issue for the bank to fund development, the better question is how likely is it that they actually would? At this time, it remains very unlikely that the Royal Bank Of Canada will be developing an electric car. If this bank were to do so, it is reasonable to predict that it will build a sports utility vehicle with a luxurious interior.

Lululemon Athletica

The Vancouver-founded company has made recent (2021) headlines when The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced that the athletic apparel brand is the new Official Outfitter of Team Canada. Lululemon has been a longtime favourite of Canadians for its iconic athletic apparel. What if this apparel company were to make an electric car? It is safe to predict that the shock factor would be extremely high. Most people do not ever expect to see an electric car come out of clothing company. At least not at this time in history. Perhaps when it gets to the point that the huge clothing companies start doing it, and others pursuing it, only then would it become expected of Lululemon to enter this sector. Lululemon has immense net revenue and continually good sales,  allowing for funding of development to not be much of an issue. Its passionate userbase helps, too. Being a company revolved around fitness, Lululemon’s first car would likely either be a sporty 2+2 coupé or a sleek, sporty crossover. Perhaps the crossover is more likely, given that consumers would want to have the extra space for their gear.

BlackBerry Limited

BlackBerry’s iconic name and history goes all the way back to 1984. Formerly known for their iconic BlackBerry smartphones, the tech company is now a software company that specializes in cybersecurity and the Internet Of Things. BlackBerry has long abandoned hardware products, with the BlackBerry Priv being its last hardware product designed in-house. For this reason, it is exceptionally unlikely that BlackBerry would ever make an in-house electric car. If anything, it would more likely create an agreement with another company to use the BlackBerry name and logo to build the hardware of the car, while BlackBerry itself takes of the software. BlackBerry products have always been about utility and hard work, making it reasonable to predict that the company would build a pickup truck as their first offering. 

Canadian Tire Corporation Limited

Canadian Tire Corporation Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure, and housewares sectors. In 2022, the company will turn 100 years old, meaning that history of the iconic company is nearly a century old at this point. As the name suggests, Canadian Tire truly does deal extensively with automotive parts, and even has mechanics that service customers’ cars in the repairs part of the stores. In addition to this, many locations have been installing electric vehicle fast chargers. All of these suggest that Canadian Tire is well setup and equipped to make electric cars. However, there remains one thing: the company has never said or implied doing such a thing. Should Canadian Tire ever come out with an announcement about it, it should not come off as too surprising or shocking. It already has automotive parts and servicing in its DNA, which would make it very convenient for servicing its own cars. It is hard to predict which class of vehicle they would launch first. Likely something full-sized with lots of storage is reasonable to expect from them. Either a van, sports utility vehicle or pickup trucks fits their theme.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose is a luxury fashion company that specializes in extreme weather outerwear. Despite the name, the brand is well known across the world for its image and high price tags. As mentioned earlier, a clothes company getting into electric cars is going to come as an immense surprise, until when it becomes common. Canada Goose is no exception. While Canada Goose is a profitable company, it does not appear to have a mutli-billion dollar stream of revenue, meaning that funding and producing an electric car may be a challenge. Or maybe not? With extreme weather being a hardcore part of the company’s DNA, it is easy to predict that Canada Goose would build either a rugged pickup truck or sport utility vehicle as their first offering. 

Telus

Being a major telecommunications company in Canada, the Edmonton-founded corporation has a massive presence in millions of Canadians lives. With mountainous revenue and a plethora of experience with technology, mobility, and security, Telus on paper sounds about fit for automotive production. Even further, GM Canada and Telus announced on September 01, 2021, that they are working together to connect GM’s next-generation vehicles to TELUS’ 5G network. This represents the first time GM has selected a domestic communications company to provide connected-vehicle services for Canadian customers. There is a big question: does Telus have any actual experience building car parts and assembly? No. Would it be hard for them to get the engineers and the resources to do such a thing? No. Has Telus announced any intentions at all to make Telus-branded electric cars? At this time, no. What class of vehicle would they launch first if they were to ever do such a thing? A van or crossover is a safe prediction.

Microsoft

Quoting straight from the website:

“Microsoft was founded in 1975. Our mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential by creating technology that transforms the way people work, play, and communicate. We develop and market software, services, and hardware that deliver new opportunities, greater convenience, and enhanced value to people’s lives. We do business worldwide and have offices in more than 100 countries.”

No further explanation is needed. Microsoft’s name is common as bread and cheese; apples and oranges. With decades of hardware and technology experience along with a wide variety of applications, Microsoft is more than capable of producing its own electric cars. Having in excess of 30 billion of revenue certainly helps, too. While Microsoft worked with Cruise and General Motors in regards to certain technologies, it has never mentioned anything about actually building cars under its own name. It should also be noted that if they were to do so, Microsoft would likely call them Surface Cars, given that this is the title they often use for hardware products they make in-house. The Microsoft Surface Computers are notable example of this. If Microsoft were to make a car, it is more than safe to believe that it would be loaded with state-of-the-art technology. It would likely look futuristic, too. Which class of car would they make? It is a bit hard to predict given the company’s variable profile. Anything with 4 or 5 doors is a safe guess.

Walmart

Ask a Canadian, American or even Mexican to name departments stores and it is safe to say that Walmart would be on the list. Even in places where it is absent, Walmart’s name still would not come off as too alien, given that its revenue puts it on a very high position of the Fortune Companies. In regards to electric cars, Walmart is no stranger to the automotive world. Not only has it worked with companies to install electric vehicle charging stations on its physical properties, but has also invested in startups. The question that remains is will Walmart make electric cars wholly under their brand name? There are no concrete answers at this time. The closest thing available is when Walmart was testing electric vans from Gatik, a partner of its, with Walmart branding on it. This means that if Walmart were to ever start making electric cars, it is very easy to predict that they will make electric vans first, and likely pickup truck variants of those vans. 

McDonald’s

The red, yellow, and white themed restaurant exists on every continent except Anarctica, and that is only because it does not have a permanent population. What started off as a hamburger stand in California with 2 brothers has since grown to become one of, if not, the most internationally recognized fast food restaurant in the world. Will this massively successful fast food restaurant build electric cars? McDonald’s has never said or thought about it. The closest thing they have done in regards to electric vehicles was to install electric vehicle charging stations at locations, and even drive-throughs. This shows that McDonald’s encourages and welcomes electric vehicles, but does not have intentions to build any at this time. If McDonald’s were to build an electric vehicle, their first model will likely be something family-oriented and capable of tackling all weather conditions. This means that a 7-seating crossover or 8-seating sport utility vehicle would likely be their pick.

Nintendo

Nintendo  is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company founded and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Given that this is the company everyone knows for providing the world the countless hours of entertainment through it gaming consoles and titles, Nintendo has a special place in the hearts of millions of consumers. What about electric cars? Has Nintendo given any thoughts or indications about electric vehicles? No words or hints are given at this time. What is certain is that if Nintendo were to enter this sector, that their car would be very sporty, tech-loaded, and consumer oriented. Either a “hot hatch” or crossover would be expected from Nintendo as their first electric car.

Takara Tomy

Most consumers probably will not know what Takara Tomy is or what it does, unless they are a fan, were a fan, or have heard of some of its most notable products: Microman, Transformers, Tomica, Battle Beasts, Beyblade, and B-Daman. Some of these products are out of production, while others such as Beyblade and Tomica continue rolling out. While the company makes plenty of die-cast car models, it does not make actual car parts. Being a rather small business on an international scale, seeing an electric car come out of them is highly unlikely at this time. As such, there is no evidence or plans of Takara Tomy making an electric car anytime soon. If they were to, competing with existing Japanese giants with far more global outreach and power, would be a rather intense challenge. At the same time, because Takara Tomy does not have history with gasoline engines, this could also make it their biggest advantage. They do not have to worry about phasing out or dealing with gasoline replacements. If Takara Tomy were to ever make an electric car, it is very safe to predict that their priorities would be making the car as fun as possible to drive. A sporty, cartoonishly styled hatchback or crossover would be expected as their first offering.

Nokia

The longtime Finnish telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company, touts themselves as a technology leader across mobile, fixed and cloud networks, where their solutions enable a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive world. Despite this, most people associate Nokia as being a smartphone maker, due to it immense popularity of its feature phones from the early 2000s. Even its defunct Windows phones, and presently produced Android phones still have a strong fanbase. Attempting to do a search for “Nokia Electric” cars is problematic in that search engines tend to bring up “Nikola” a startup that was supposed to release a fuel cell electric truck, but went off track. Either way, if there were strong evidence for a Nokia electric car, the results would have said so. They presently do not. If Nokia were to build their own electric car, it is very safe to assume that it will be a very rugged and capable crossover or sport utility vehicle with a thoughtfully designed, high-tech interior.

Yamaha

Yamaha is an extremely familiar brand to musicians and motorists alike thanks to its presence in instruments and motorized parts across the world. However, it should be noted that Yamaha Motor Company has been spun off from Yamaha Corporation as a separate company back in 1955. Yamaha Corporation is still the largest private company shareholder of it, though. Out of all the these companies mentioned thus far in the Predictions Section, Yamaha is the one that would be the least shocking to see an electric car from. The company already makes numerous powertrains and parts, meaning that it more than clearly has the resources to do so. There is only one strange problem: they do not want to make whole electric cars. At least, that is the impression they are sending so far. Yamaha Motor has even went as far as announcing that they were accepting orders for prototype hyper-EV electric motor development in a news release from April 12, 2021. At this point, it is rather confusing that they are taking such a passive approach to electric vehicle manufacturing. If Yamaha decides to make vehicles of their own, it will likely be a sport utility vehicle as their first offering.

Twitter

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and coworkers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People post Tweets, which may contain photos, videos, links, and text. These messages are posted to your profile, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.” -Twitter.

With approximately 180 – 206 million users spread across all continents, Twitter is what can rightly be described as a mega platform. Its sheer popularity is due to how efficient and useful its iconic Tweet system is. Does Twitter have any plans to make Twitter-branded electric cars of its own? No, there is no mention of this happening at the time. In fact, it does not seem as though any social media platform has even ever mentioned thinking about building branded electric cars of their own. Should Twitter come out to do this, it will shock the world for sure. It would also be greatly expected for Facebook, a company that truly has the revenue to do such a thing, to also make an electric car in response to Twitter’s. What kind of vehicle would Twitter make? It is somewhat hard to say. Tweets are light in nature, suggesting that the company might go with a compact crossover as their first choice. Yet, because it is also a social platform for a wide variety of uses, it is also possible they might even do something huge like an 8-seating sport utility vehicle. 

Henri Selmer Paris

This is an extremely familiar to name saxophone and clarinet players, especially professionals. Selmer touts itself as being a world leader in manufacturing high-end saxophones, clarinets, and mouthpieces. Being a fine instrument-maker that has been around since 1885, Selmer, without a doubt works with a lot of steel, wood, and plastic. This means that they are already familiar with designing, materials, machinery, and production-related matters. While this does not mean that it automatically translates into being good at cars, it does give them an immense advantage if they ever wanted to start doing so, in comparison to company that only deals with food for example. Has Selmer said anything about making electric cars? No, there are zero mentions of it at this time. What kind of vehicle would the French company debut with? Given that Selmer is notably a company of magnificent design, it is easy to predict that they would debut with a very fine luxury car. Selmer makes instruments in all sorts of sizes. Clarinetists and saxophonists often have very large instruments in their collections, such as baritone saxophones and bass clarinets. With Selmer being more than aware of this, their first car would most likely be a utility vehicle of the sort. One that would logically be no smaller than a mid-sized crossover. Perhaps even a station wagon might be their pick.

Gojo Industries

Most people know what Purell is, but what most may or may not know is that Purell is a product of a billion dollar company called Gojo Industries. Gojo makes all sorts of sanitizer, soaps, and personal hygiene products. With Gojo having a quarter of the United States’ hand sanitizer sales and an annual revenue of 500 million, it appears to be in good financial shape to make an electric cars. Will it make them, though? There are no mentions of it. One thing that can be almost certain, is that the vehicle would carry the Purell brand, as this brand is both extremely profitable and iconic in name. With Purell being a brand centered around hygiene and utility, it is very easy to predict that Gojo would build a Purell-branded van as its first vehicle. It would also be expected to have a lot of features in regards to health and safety, most notable HEPA filters.

The Reality Of It All

Never say never? For some of the companies above such as fast food companies like McDonald’s, the world will almost certainly not ever see them produce vehicles in their lifetime. Do these companies need to? Absolutely not. If anything, it is the existing companies right now, particularly resistant ones such as Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, and plethora of others that should start exclusively producing electric cars. That said, if an extremely unpredicted company like McDonald’s does decide to do cars, there is no harm in that. For some of the companies above, they already have a lot of experience with cars and machinery, such as Walmart and Canadian Tire. However, there is no concrete evidence that either of these two will make electric cars. For Walmart particularly, it does seem somewhat more likely, even if not done under their own brand name. Yamaha Motor is in a particularly strange position in that it technically already makes cars, just not wholly complete cars. For this reason, it is not even correct to call it a “non-automotive” company unless referring to Yamaha Corporation, the company it originally separated itself from. Yamaha should be the one that would be most likely to do make whole cars on this, but due to fear, uncertainty and doubt, it remains unknown.

2020 Battery Electric Vehicles Canada

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The Electric World And Its 2020s Plans

Though 2020 has been a year of numerous challenges, it has not caused a complete halt on the various plans across numerous industries. The United States in particular has a plethora plenty of interesting, noteworthy events. Things including California’s move to end sales of new gas-powered cars, startups going in production, traditional companies pouring billions into electrification, and more.

Britain will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030, 5 years earlier than initially planned. Several other countries, mainly European, have also announced similar plans earlier this year, or from previous years of the 2010s decade.

What About Canada?

What about Canada? Has Canada made any exciting, newsworthy plans revolving battery-electric vehicles? Any exciting upgrades to the infrastructure? Plans to take fossil fuel-powered vehicles off the road? Home-grown startups? New car models that arrived in 2020 or coming very soon? Factories dedicated to electric vehicles? All of these topics shall be explored.

Chargers

As battery electric vehicles rely on charging outlets to get their power, charging stations tend to be the main topic of infrastructural announcements.

Solar

Solar charging a vehicle is not available in Canada, as automakers have not yet built it into any of their vehicular models. The country itself has not attempted making such either. Given that much of Canada has plenty of sunny regions, this could likely garner more attention in the coming years for this decade.

Removable Batteries

Unlike China, Canada does not have any battery swapping stations set up. It has not announced recent plans to do so either. The reason for this heavily boils down to the fact that the battery electric vehicles offered for sale in Canada do not allow or advise regulars consumers to remove their vehicle’s battery. However, if electric automakers from China decide to sell their vehicles in Canada, and Canada approves of it, then this could change sooner then expected.

It should be noted that Nio is presently the only company with proven battery swapping.  Nio did say that it hopes to become a global brand with a presence in golden markets such as the United States and Europe. It has not announced a fixed date for when it will enter either of these regions, however.

Qi

Within the smartphone industry, nearly every major smartphone offers wireless charging, being it the Apple iPhone 12, Google Pixel 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, and many others. What about the automotive industry? Can vehicles can be charged wirelessly over giant charging pads? A quote from Gruzen details what is going on in regards to this.

” Industry groups including SAE International (global), IEC/ISO (global), and CATARC (China) are bringing forward industry standards to ensure full interoperability. In this way, wireless charging does not meet the same fate as plug-in chargers, in that automakers and regions have different types of plugs, are drivers often have difficulty finding one that works.”  – Alex Gruzen of WiTricity

At the present, Canada does not have any wireless charging stations or pads available for use at home. The nation has not announced when this might arrive either. BMW at one point sampled wireless charging with its BMW 530e plug-in hybrid. It did this with a limited selection of customers in Germany, then California, United States.

Electric Vehicle Chargers

If there is one area of the Canadian electrical infrastructure that is continuing to expand across the country, it would be the continual addition of electric charging stations. Numerous municipalities have announced plans this year for expansions. The following locations below are a few of many.

York Region

Tony Van Bynen, Member of Parliament for Newmarket­–Aurora, as a representative of Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister Of Natural Resources, announced $350,000 to help the Regional Municipality Of York build 70 electric vehicle level 2 chargers to be installed over the region as part of the government’s promise to a low-carbon future.

Québec And New Brunswick

 In November, Steven Guilbeault, Minister Of Canadian Heritage and Member Of Parliament for Laurier–Sainte-Marie, announced a $5-million investment in Québec and New Brunswick for the installation of 100 electric vehicle fast chargers as part of the government’s plan to build a national network of electric vehicle charging stations. The funding will allow the Montreal-based association of Earth Day Canada to build and locate electric vehicle chargers, which will be functional by 2021, at 50 IGA grocery stores across the two provinces.

Durham Region

On December 02, 2020, the Oshawa Express released a post announcing that Durham received more than $296,000 investment from the Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program. The investment will support the installment of 60 electric vehicle connectors across 21 municipally-owned and publicly-accessible locations. The addition of more charging locations, will encourage more people to use electric vehicles and reduce internal combustion pollutants. 

Yukon Territory

The Yukon government’s climate change plan has set a goal of 4,800 electric vehicles on Yukon roads by 2030. The Territory has launched 3 fast-charging stations since November 2019, and plans to bring a station to Haines Junction and Marsh Lake soon.

Banning Internal Combustion Engines In Canada

Canada has not made any notable, concrete plans of when it will completely ban the internal combustion engine. The general plan appears to be banning the sale of new internal combustion engine cars by 2040, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Québec is the notable exception here. To date, it is the only province that has clearly announced that it wants to ban the sale of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles as of 2035. British Columbia has mandated that 10% of vehicles sold in the province must be zero-emissions by 2025, while an outright ban comes in effect 2040.

Nunavut being a large, vast, subarctic and extremely sparsely populated Territory faces special challenges in infrastructure. In fact, Qulliq Energy Corporation states that the 25 power plants operating in Nunavut’s community solely run on diesel. Officials also mentioned the cost of renewable energy in the territory is extremely high.

Home-grown Canadian Electric Car Startups

Canada has plenty of automotive assembly plants owned by foreign brands. Some of which have announced plans to build electric cars in the country.

United States And China

Within the last decade and slightly longer, the United States has created Rivian, Nikola Motors, Lucid Motors, Canoo, Fisker Automotive, Karma Automotive, Lordstown Motors, and Atlis Motor Vehicles. China has plenty, but the notables would be Nio, WM Motor, Xiaopeng Motors, and Byton. Croatia’s Rimac Automobili is a notable one for Europe given that it solely focuses on hyper all-electric vehicles. It should be importantly noted that not all of the startups mentioned here are in good shape. In fact, some of them could very well disappear within a year or two from now, if they do not clean up ongoing scandals, or financial problems.

Canada’s All-electric Startup Plans

Canada has not come up with any all-electric vehicle startups within the last decade. It has not made any major announcements, plans, or signs of any coming at this time either. Of course, this could quickly change going from 2020 onward into 2021 and beyond. Until then, Canada has been deeply silent in this regards. There is one exception that will be discussed shortly: Project Arrow

The Recent Past

Havelaar Canada unveiled a concept electric truck during the Spring of 2017. Since then, there has been no further word or mention of it. The company’s website still remains up and functioning, only without mention of the E-Pickup.

Current Potential 

Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) directed a project to design the first First all-Canadian electric vehicle. The Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation’s virtual reality CAVE will assist engineering the virtual model, while Ontario Tech University in Oshawa builds a physical one. APMA announced that the finalist for the vehicle design is a team from Carleton University’s School Of Industrial Design in Ottawa. The team won over 25 other applicants across Canada. Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau congratulated the team over a Tweet on October 13, 2020.

Vehicles New To Canada For 2020

The 2020 year has not brought as much new models to dealerships as companies have hoped for. Despite slowdowns and hardships from the year’s COVID-19 challenges, a number of interesting vehicle have arrived:

• Audi E-Tron Sportback
• Mini Cooper SE
• Polestar 2
• Porsche Taycan
• Tesla Model Y

Battery Electric Vehicle Manufacturing In Canada

Canada has announced plans to invest in battery electric manufacturing. While much of it thus far is being done for foreign companies such as Ford Motor Company, local companies could arrive on the scene in the near or distant future.

Oakville Assembly Complex

On October 08, 2020, the Prime Minister Of Canada posted an official news release in regards to repurposing the the Oakville Assembly Complex for battery electric vehicle production. He also mentioned that it will help secure 5,400 well-paying middle class jobs across Ford’s production workforce in Canada, grow the green economy, especially in Southern Ontario where thousands of Canadians are employed across the automotive supply chain. 

GM Oshawa Car Assembly

General motors has been frequently mentioning their commitment to a future of zero emissions. The company has laid out plans for plants in the United States, but nothing solid for Canada at this time. Former workers, as well as Green Jobs Oshawa have urged General Motors to retool the plant to build battery electric vehicles there. Others have been skeptical about it due to the immense financial cost, logistic issues, and that a government-owned plant would struggle to develop the technology needed to produce high-quality electric vehicles.

Summary

Similarly to 2019, 2020 has not brought any exciting breakthroughs to the battery electric vehicle market of Canada. This is not to say that 2020 has not brought anything special at all. The arrival of the Porsce Taycan, an all-electric performance brand from prestigious automaker Porsche, shows that some legacy makers are indeed taking electrification seriously by offering stylish, fast, yet also practical vehicles. While the increasing additions of electric stations does not sound to exciting on paper, it is immensely beneficial for people that actually use and charge their electric vehicles as they travel.

Finally, if there is one thing that should be considered exciting for all Canadians is APMA’s Project Arrow. Should this project continue to smoothly move along, it will be a major move in the home-grown Canadian automotive industry.

COVID-19: A Wake Up Call For Change

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COVID-19

A new illness has rapidly made its way across the world, since its official discovery on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The disease was simply called “coronavirus” until it was officially given the name Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in February 2020. COVID-19 comes from a large family of coronaviruses. Some of these viruses are zoonotic, being able to spread from animals to humans. Others, are not. Human coronaviruses are common and usually associated non-severe illnesses such as the common cold. COVID-19 has a highly variable effect, ranging from mild to severe depending on a person’s health and age. COVID-19 is a new disease that has not been identified in humans until 2019. This disease is caused from SARS-CoV-2.

Before COVID-19 emerged, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, were the only two other cases of coronaviruses that have been documented. Canada Health Services offers complete informational pages on updates, awareness, symptoms, and many more.

A Wake Up Call For Change

COVID-19 has taken the world by shock and tragedy. Hospitals are overwhelmed, many businesses have been forced to close, supply chains are overworked, and the list goes on. There have been many outbreaks in history: SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika virus, and H1N1 to name a few. Yet, it only seems to be now that the world is realizing that the way of doing a number of things needs to be changed. COVID-19 is a wake up call for change, but will society listen? Remote working, health, sanitation, diet, manufacturing, and governmental systems — all of these need to be looked at.

Remote Working

Working remotely is when an employee works away from a traditional environment such as an office, through the use of technology. Remote work has risen a lot in recent years as more people and employers continue to discover the tremendous benefits associated with it. The benefits?

• No commute
• Saves Energy
• Environmentally friendly
• Saves costs
• Greater hour flexibility
• Greater work-life balance
• Greater employee retention
• More productivity
• Reduces/eliminates the spread of illnesses such as colds, COVID-19, and others

Despite all the benefits remote working does for the world, many companies still have not embraced it. As a result, millions of vehicles flock to the road contributing to air pollution, congested roads, and noise. Huge buildings take up lots of space, consume lots of energy, materials, and plenty of other resources. Employees, depending on their distance, have less time for themselves due to commuting, weather, and road conditions. As a result, they will be more likely to take sick days, or have peak performance.

With the rapid international spread of COVID-19, it is only now that some companies who have been adamant about remote working, have been forced into it. It should not take the outbreak of a contagious disease to realize that remote working exists. In the age of high-speed Internet, advanced computers, smartphones, and a plethora of applications, there should no longer be an excuse for this. For all jobs where it is possible to work remotely, it needs to become a permanent thing if companies wish to drastically reduce environmental pollution, save energy and costs, and make their employees happier. Resisting remote technology is both unintelligent and dangerous.

Hospitals

There has been many outbreaks in the history of time. Some restricted to specific geographical areas, while others make their way around the globe. Despite all the outbreaks of the pasts, the health infrastructure of many countries have been tragically caught be surprise in the rapid spread of COVID-19. Italy is a notable example of this. Despite being a highly developed, internationally recognized nation for its history music and food, Italy has been suffering the hardest from this. The reason? Not enough hospital beds for its predominantly old population, not enough medical equipment, nor enough doctors to deal with the influx of diseased patients.

The world’s infrastructure should have been prepared for rapid outbreaks. It has already seen them. Why did COVID-19 in particular have to remind the world that many countries should have increased the number of available beds and equipment? As a result of this tardiness, many people, particularly the elderly, have died. Worse, the loved ones in some countries were not even allowed to have ceremonies or say last words, due to strict isolation measures in place.

Sanitation

Soap and water is not a new invention. It has actually been around for millennia. It is not precisely known when people discovered the vital importance of washing the hands with soap and water. An Austro-Hungarian doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis, did propose the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in a Viennese hospital. Between sometime then and now, washing with soap and water has become the universal golden standard for both disease prevention and hygiene. Unfortunately, despite all the past outbreaks around the world, it seems to be only now, with COVID-19 around the globe, that proper hand washing is being internationally emphasized more than ever. Why now? Imagine all the lives that could have been saved if people across the world had consistently washed with soap and water, since the time that golden combination has been discovered. The Centres For Disease Control And Prevention and Health Canada have complete informational pages dedicated to hand hygiene.

Diet

What do mice, rats, bats, monkeys, and bushmeat animals all have in common? All have proven past records of causing horrific illnesses. Plague, HIV, and Ebola are three notable examples. While the source of COVID-19 is still not 100% certain at this time (March 2020) most authorities have traced the genetic connection to bats, pangolins, or possibly other wild mammals. It is time to permanently stop eating wild animals with consistent connections to disease. Not only is it highly unsanitary, it is also bad for the ecosystem and environment. Frequently hunted animals will go extinct from excessive hunting.

There has been efforts to educate people to refrain from bushmeat during the ebola outbreak. Still, many other countries around the world continued eating animals with a consistent history of disease. Since COVID-19 has spread, the subject of wet markets has been revisited once again. Rather than waiting for something to become an international problem, the lesson should have been learned from the past already.

Some people may be quick to point out that proper cooking can kill the viruses. Unfortunately, bushmeat handlers often practice very poor handling, cooking, storing, and disposal of the meats. Even then, there are some diseases that cannot be cooked out. Lytico-bodig disease is an example.

Manufacturing

The world is too heavily dependent on China, as well as other countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. The route reason for this is bulk, cheap labour. As a result, a number of tech companies with plants in China, faced product delays and shortages of parts when the country was forced to shut its factories down. Outside of viral infections, local manufacturing has the following benefits:

• Easier communication. When a company produces its goods in the same country it is based, this eliminates language barriers.
• Positive press. Manufacturing locally sets a company apart from others, and the “Made In Local Country” is a valuable marketing tool.
• Higher labor standards. Generally speaking, manufacturers in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, have higher and better-enforced labor standards to protect the well-being of workers.
• Positive perception. Because the public of developed nations tends to perceive their local-made products as being of better quality than products manufactured overseas, they are more willing to pay more for them.
• Faster fulfillment times. By going with a domestic manufacturer, companies experience a quicker turnaround time, than they would sourcing their product overseas.
• Reduced shipping costs. The farther a product has to be shipped, the more expensive it will be.
• Flexible payments options. International manufacturers often accept only a few payment methods. In some cases, they require full upfront payment from foreign clients. Local manufacturing almost always offers flexible financing terms.
• Easier Visiting Businesses who choose a local manufacturer are much better able to see firsthand how a facility operates, and see how their product is produced. This in turn allows it to be easier to catch prohibited practices.
• Greater Intellectual Security. Connecting closely with the easier visiting point, this also allows for decreased intellectual property theft
• Environmentally Friendlier. By making a product on the same soil as its domestic market, this reduces excessive usage of planes, trucks, and trains.

With all these benefits in place, and the consequences COVID-19 highlighted, it is time to stop taking advantage of other people for cheap, bulk labour. All existing foreign plants can remain in place, or gradually transition back to the country origin. For all newer companies and plans for newer factories, local is the way to go for a better, more secured future.

Abolish Communism

There are just 5 countries out of 195 that have a communist government system: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. Unlike democratic countries, the citizens of communist countries have far less freedoms and rights, including the press. While communism has proven to be oppressive and cruel for a long time, COVID-19 further proves that it is high time these countries, especially China, work towards abolishing it as soon as they feasibly can.

China did not ask for this disease to come upon themselves. It was not man-made, brought be spies, soldiers or any kind of superstitious nonsense. However, China can be rightfully scolded for detaining and quieting people such as Li Wenliang, who tried to warn the public about a disease spreading. As a result of China spending more effort in censoring and oppressing, it and the world has now suffered more than necessary from the communist government’s dictatorial approach to matters. It is time for communism to end. Many nations that were previously communist, have managed to transition peacefully. China can do the same.

Racism

Since the time and spread of COVID-19, there has been increased racism towards Asians. While the virus did in fact come from China, and the government can rightfully be blamed for mishandling it, viruses do not know or care about race. They are not something that exclusively affects one race or ethnicity, and avoids the rest. Reacting towards others with hate, only creates greater problems. It hinders the healing process. It makes people worried about getting treatment.

Poverty

Poverty is an intensely complex subject caused from numerous factors: lack of education, inability to get education, lack of employment, mental health, physical health, gender, racism, high cost of living, and many other factors. Billions across the world do not have proper houses. They are living on the streets, in shacks, shelters, and other unstable conditions. As a result, this poses a serious risk for the community spread of COVID-19. Curbing poverty is a complex problem with no single solution. However, world leaders should not wait until an outbreak arrives to realize that they should have done more sooner.

Will The World Wake Up?

Will the world wake up? Or will leaders and citizens go back to usual as soon as things slow down? COVID-19 is certainly not the first, nor will it be the last international plague. More will follow at an unknown point in time.