Via ENN (Reuters):

The Canadian government is considering introducing a tax credit or tax rebate for the purchase of environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles, a government source said Wednesday. “There’s a strong political will to do it,” the source said, adding that the idea is being discussed by cabinet and it is possible that tax breaks for fuel-efficient vehicles might be included in the federal budget, widely expected to be introduced in late March. The provincial government of British Columbia announced Tuesday it was extending a C$2,000 ($1,710) tax exemption on new hybrid vehicles, which lower gasoline use by combining a traditional internal combustion engine with a battery. Ontario has a tax rebate of up to C$2,000 for fuel-efficient vehicles and Quebec has a tax rebate of up to C$1,000.

This would be great news for expanding the ownership of Hybrids in Canada. In the US, the tax credit on hybrid cars was a driving factor in the early growth of the Prius line, and now that the tax credits have expired on the Prius, Toyota has had to turn to other incentives to maintain its sales.

Also included in the article is GM’s plans to begin producing a hybrid line of cars in Canada this year - available in showrooms in 2008.

For those of you north of the border, click here for more details.