Canadians who want to drive “green” vehicles may now be eligible for rebates no matter where they live, thanks to a $300-million pledge from the federal Liberal government built into in its newly-released 2019 budget.

The funding will be spread over three years and will give buyers up to $5,000 against the purchase of zero-emission vehicles, which include battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

Currently, only Quebec and British Columbia offer such rebates.

However, the federal purchase incentives will only apply to vehicles with a maximum purchase price of $45,000. At the moment, that includes small cars like the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Soul EV and Smart EQ.

“With this budget, we are taking steps to make zero-emission vehicles more affordable for more Canadians…who want to make the switch and pay less at the pump,” said Bill Morneau, Canada’s Minister of Finance, as he presented the budget in Parliament.

Morneau added the budget will “provide expensing to a full range of zero-emission vehicles, so that businesses that want to switch over their fleet can recoup that investment sooner.” Under the plan, companies can deduct the full value of a ZEV during the year it is purchased, up to $55,000. Currently, a conventional gasoline vehicle has a maximum business deduction of $30,000.

Over the next five years, Natural Resources Canada will receive $130 million to build vehicle charging stations, including in farther-flung locations as well as in public parking lots, and in commercial and residential buildings.

Earlier this year, the Liberals announced a target of all vehicles sold in Canada being zero-emission by 2040. Last November, British Columbia’s government laid out the same goals on a similar timeline. Under the targets, gas-free vehicles would make up 10 per cent of market by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030, before reaching total commitment by 2040.

Quebec currently has a program, in effect since the start of the 2018 model year, where 3.5 per cent of an automaker’s sales in the province must be zero-emission. Those that don’t sell enough, or don’t offer electric cars, must make up the difference by buying enough zero-emission credits to reach the mandate threshold.

According to technology company FleetCarma, Canadians bought 34,357 plug-in vehicles in the first ten months of 2018 – a figure which includes plug-in hybrids that don’t qualify as zero-emission – while vehicle sales overall during the period were 1.72 million.

The federal rebates are part of the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases to meet climate change targets.