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Canadians are on-pace to burn through a federal $300-million electric car incentive program, with B.C. seeing the second-highest demand in the country.

Between May 1 and June 21, more than 8,800 incentive requests have been submitted under Ottawa’s three-year, zero emission vehicles incentive program, said Transport Canada. The program provides a $5,000 incentive on the purchase or lease of eligible zero-emission vehicles.

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The 8,800 reimbursement requests work out to $44 million over a seven-week period — close to half of what would be the annual share of the $300-million pot allotted for 2019-22.

The numbers speak to the effectiveness of the incentive, said Neil MacEachern of Plug In B.C., a Fraser Basin Council program that advocates for the increased use of electric vehicles. He had heard anecdotal evidence of a large spike in interest and demand for electric vehicles once the federal rebate kicked in May 1.