On an acreage near Golden, British Columbia, Edison Motors sets out to be the first manufacturer of a commercially available, Canadian-made diesel-hybrid semi truck. Led by B.C. locals Chace Barber and Eric Little, what started as a backyard operation is now attracting investors to move into commercial production—but not for its flagship hybrid model.

The pair say Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is stalling approval for their hybrid trucks because their design varies from current hybrid regulations.

“The hybrid kit, because it uses a generator, was not approved for highway use, so we couldn’t put it in a truck,” said Barber in a YouTube video posted this January. “This is something we are still working on.”

What ECCC did approve was a conventional diesel engine, the kind long used by freight carriers across Canada and the United States. Despite accounting for only 1.5% of vehicles on the road, these trucks contribute disproportionately, 6.5%, to Canada’s total vehicle kilometres travelled, according to [pdf] a 2019 report. In 2022, nearly 10% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions came from [pdf] freight transportation.

While they wait for regulation to catch up to their idea, Edison Motors is pivoting to a wholly diesel vehicle to stay afloat.

Senators and Members of Parliament are working on exemptions for the company, Barber said in the video. “We are hopefully expecting to see those exemptions come in in 2026 to give us approval on the hybrid.”

In an email to The Energy Mix, ECCC officials wrote they are working with Edison Motors and other Canadian companies to provide guidance and support on how they meet Canadian regulatory requirements. “It is the responsibility of companies to demonstrate that the products they intend to manufacture will be compliant with applicable regulatory requirements,” the department said.

If it’s approved, Edison’s hybrid model will enter a largely untapped market, Chandan Bhardwaj, a senior analyst with the Pembina Institute, told The Mix. Canada remains a small player in heavy truck production, and there is scope for growth.

“With the hybrid diesel, they need to demonstrate that it is, in fact, a zero-emission vehicle, and that it fits into the definition of what the government of Canada qualifies as zero-emission,” said Bhardwaj. “But yes, there’s clearly a transitionary demand for a mixed or a hybrid technology before trucks eventually move to electric.”

He added that while Canada is in the top five producers of semi trucks, the industry has declined significantly. In 2024, it was down to about 30% of its peak in 2016. That same year, global electric truck sales grew by almost 80%, which points to substantial room for growth in the Canadian market.

That bodes well for startups like Edison Motors, but Bhardwaj said they will struggle to scale to commercial production without supportive policies in place.

Canada’s auto manufacturing sector faces pressure from U.S. tariffs, which have disrupted both its supply chain and customer base.

Tariffs on aluminum and steel and the hundreds of auto parts that cross the border are hurting auto manufacturers, Andrew McKinnon, acting CEO of Accelerate, told The Mix. “Those companies that are building cars here in Canada, aiming to transition to electrification, suddenly they have to deal with all these impacts from tariffs.”

Tariffs also limited Edison Motors’ access to the U.S. market, cutting their client base in half, the Globe and Mail reported last October.

Finding buyers at home is difficult. Truckers are skeptical of switching away from conventional engines, Bhardwaj said. “The global market is far ahead of Canada in terms of adoption. So Canadian truck manufacturing could manufacture here and sell abroad, that could be an ideal scenario.”

Canada is working to strengthen its domestic auto supply chain to reduce reliance on the global market and lessen the effects of tariffs, but these systems take time to build, McKinnon said.

Still, these efforts will create economic benefits across Canada, including for small companies like Edison Motors. “Those small companies also help to drive this transition as well and create a demand for more Canadian battery and battery materials.”

He added that it is already challenging to build a new technology, let alone doing that just as the Canadian auto industry is under threat.

“You can have a great idea, and just like with any business, you’re going to be challenged breaking into an established market for the medium and heavy duty space.”