The Quebec government has added the Shanghai-built Tesla Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive to the list of vehicles eligible for the province’s Roulez Vert rebate.

The Model 3 is the first vehicle imported under Canada’s 49,000-unit Chinese EV quota to be added to a provincial rebate program’s eligible vehicle list.

Before the trade deal, only the Volvo EX30 and the Polestar 2 — both built in China — qualified.

The inclusion entitles buyers registering the sedan in Quebec to C$2,000 ($1,450) in provincial financial assistance, applied either at the dealership or through the program’s online portal.

The Model 3 Premium RWD is currently priced from C$39,490 ($28,600) in Canada, with the total reaching around C$42,100 ($30,500) after fees.

With the C$2,000 rebate, the price lowers to C$37,490, equivalent to $27,200 — more than $10,000 below the $42,490 price point for the Premium model in the US.

Tesla began assigning VINs to Shanghai-built Model 3s bound for the Canadian market earlier this year, after switching the country’s import source from the United States to China to take advantage of Ottawa’s new tariff framework with Beijing.

The sedan, however, does not qualify for the federal EV rebate — the more lucrative of the two incentives — as it is produced in China.

Roulez vert is Quebec’s provincial purchase incentive for zero-emission vehicles, in place since 2012.

For this year, the program offers C$2,000 for new battery-electric vehicles, between C$500 and C$1,000 for plug-in hybrids depending on battery capacity, and C$1,000 for used BEVs.

Buyers installing a Level 2 home charger can claim up to C$600 in additional assistance.

Eligibility is capped at vehicles with an MSRP under C$65,000 ($47,100), and the rebate amount is tied to the date the vehicle is registered in Quebec — not the purchase date.

The provincial government is winding Roulez Vert down on the last day of 2026, with no rebates available from 2027 onward.

In the budget plan for 2024, Quebec’s Transport Ministry already admitted that the rebate had served its initial purpose of jumpstarting EV adoption, citing more than 240,000 electric vehicles already on Quebec roads and EV penetration exceeding 20% of new vehicle sales.

The federal rebate operates under entirely different rules.

The Electric Vehicle Affordability Program (EVAP), implemented in February under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, offers up to C$5,000 ($3,600) for new battery-electric vehicles and up to C$2,500 for plug-in hybrid models.

The program replaces the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) initiative, which ran out of funding in early 2025 amid a surge in demand.

EVAP is backed by C$2.3 billion in federal funding spread over five years, with the rebate amount stepping down annually — to C$4,000 in 2027, C$3,000 in 2028 and 2029, and C$2,000 in 2030 — before the program ends.

The federal rebate applies to vehicles with a final transaction value of C$50,000 ($36,500) or less, with no price cap for Canadian-built models.

Crucially, EVAP eligibility is restricted to vehicles manufactured in Canada or in countries with which Canada holds an active free-trade agreement.

China is not on that list.

Tesla‘s Model Y, which the company now sources for the Canadian market from Giga Berlin, qualifies for the federal rebate and is available from under C$45,000 ($32,600), while the cheaper Shanghai-built Model 3 does not.

In its first three months, EVAP supported more than 24,400 EV sales across Canada, according to federal data.

EVAP is limited to one rebate per individual over the five-year program, and to 10 rebates per business for commercial fleet purchases.

The arrival of the Shanghai-built Model 3 in Canada is the first visible consumer-facing outcome of the quota agreement reached between Ottawa and Beijing earlier this year.

Under the deal, up to 49,000 Chinese-built electric vehicles can enter Canada each year facing a 6.1% levy, rather than the 100% surtax Ottawa had imposed in 2024 in alignment with the US and the European Union.

The first 24,500 vehicles can enter Canada between March 1 and August 31 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tesla has moved aggressively to capture a significant portion of the quota, pulling US-made Model 3 imports and replacing them with Shanghai-built units.

The Canadian government is separately weighing sub-allocations within the broader quota to prevent any single automaker from claiming a disproportionate share.

Three major Chinese automakers — BYD, Chery, and Geely — are also confirmed to be preparing Canadian market entries by year-end, although none are expected to deliver vehicles before the final months of 2026.

The China-built Model 3’s introduction in Canada has not been free of friction.

Tesla has reduced the warranty coverage on DC fast charging speeds for Canadian-spec Model 3 units, prompting backlash from customers.

The company has since further capped peak charging rates via a software update, leaving the Canadian Model 3 with the slowest peak charging performance of any Premium-tier Model 3 sold globally.

Tesla has not publicly explained the changes.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit Canada from May 28 to 30, the first trip to Ottawa by a Chinese foreign minister in a decade.

The visit follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Beijing in January, which laid the groundwork for the trade reopening.