Les véhicules automobiles électriques dans la morphologie sociale du Québec, les pratiques de déplacement et les aspirations des ménages

Abstract

The internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) is by far the main mean of transportation for households in Quebec, and a law was adopted prohibiting the sale of new ICEV starting in 2035. Quebec's hydroelectric power, being nationalized and recognized as a clean and affordable energy source, efforts toward energy transition in Quebec seems to be focusing on the electrification of transportation and decarbonization of industries. Regarding Quebec household gasoline consumption for transportation, electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be the alternative that meets the conditions leading to change in mobility practices. Our analysis of a survey conducted in 2022 illustrates how the use of automobiles and aspirations to buy or repurchase an EV take shape within the travel profiles of private households situated in the social morphology of Quebec. By considering the regions and types of places to which participants identify their main residence, variations appear in the household’s main means of transportation, in the effort and possibility of prioritizing active mobility and the use of public transport, then in the aspirations to buy or repurchase an EV. The representation of demographics in the ecumene, urban systems, internal migrations, transportation infrastructures, and material and seasonal conditions in Quebec — within which travel profiles vary — is the cornerstone of the analysis. It reveals that while the use of electric vehicles in 2022 is initiated with little variation geographically, expressed aspirations suggest that fractures could potentially widen, particularly amongst generations, household budgets, and territories where the relationship with this technology differs.

Keywords

• mobility
• Canada
• car
• Quebec
• electromobility
• electric vehicle (EV)