As 2025 winds down, Quebec remains a key market to watch after last year’s late surge in sales driven by buyers rushing to use expiring incentives. That spike inflated comparisons, contributing to weaker results through most of 2025. In October, Quebec’s sales fell 7.9% compared to its ZEV-boosted highs from a year earlier, and its year-to-date performance dipped 0.5%. Other regions also softened in October, with the Atlantic provinces posting single-digit declines despite strong performance earlier in the year, and Alberta and Manitoba seeing similar drops.

The broader Canadian new-vehicle market is highly unstable, influenced by shifting U.S.–Canada trade dynamics, GDP declines, unexpected employment gains, pricing changes, and the ongoing transition to ZEVs. According to Andrew King of DAC, segment-level performance is especially sensitive to disruption, noting that compact car sales fell sharply in October despite strong growth earlier in the year. Despite the volatility and difficult year-over-year comparisons, October was still a solid month overall. Canada recorded 159,000 new light-vehicle sales, down 1.8% from October 2024, while year-to-date sales reached 1.63 million units, up 3.9% from the same period last year.