Jessica Friesen's family has been pumping gas in Ontario's Niagara Region for more than five decades. But as electric vehicles increasingly take over Canada's roads, some experts warn that her industry's days are numbered.

Friesen, however, is unfazed. Since her grandfather opened the first Gales Gas Bar location in 1967, the family business has grown and adapted over the decades, and it now comprises 14 gas stations, as well as convenience stores and fuel delivery trucks.

"One of the reasons that we are still independently owned is because we have been able to diversify our business," said Friesen, the company's third-generation owner and CEO.

Industry-watchers say diversification will be the key to survival in the decades to come, with the federal government mandating that all new cars and light-duty trucks sold in the country be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035.

Those vehicles include battery-electric (which require charging with electricity), hydrogen fuel cell (which run on hydrogen, currently available at only a limited number of gas stations in Canada) and plug-in hybrid electric (which can run on electricity or gas).

Zero-emission vehicles are currently a small but growing slice of the Canadian vehicle market. Of 1.64 million new vehicles registered in 2021, just over 86,000 of them — or 5.2 per cent — were ZEVs, up from 3.5 per cent in 2020, according to federal government data published in late April.

The rising market share comes as more and more ZEV options roll out in Canada, in tandem with an increased government focus on tackling climate change — including by cutting transportation emissions, which account for about a quarter of Canada's CO2 emissions. 

The federal government's strategy won't mean a complete ban on gas cars. In 2035, you'll still be able to buy one that's used, or you could buy a new plug-in hybrid and keep putting gas in the tank.

But that would still mean declining demand for petroleum — and a big dent in gas stations' earnings if they don't find a new model.