Electric vehicles have become the new geopolitical fault line in North America. Canada’s sweeping EV subsidies collide with U.S. bans on Chinese auto tech, while Waymo faces fresh regulatory scrutiny. Cars are increasingly rolling computers, and governments are scrambling to keep up.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE
- Why Canada is accelerating EV subsidies and charging infrastructure
- How Canada’s EV strategy explicitly prioritizes domestic manufacturing
- What Canada’s growing openness to China and South Korea signals
- Why the U.S. is banning Chinese software from connected vehicles
- How automakers are scrambling to remove Chinese-authored code
- Why the resignation of a key U.S. auto security official raised eyebrows
- What new rules mean for 2027 and 2030 model-year vehicles
- Why Waymo’s reliance on overseas remote operators is drawing scrutiny
- How autonomous vehicles are creating new regulatory blind spots
TIMESTAMPS / CHAPTERS
00:00 – Canada and the U.S. take diverging auto paths
00:27 – Canada’s EV subsidies and rebate structure
01:02 – Favoring Canadian-made vehicles
01:29 – EV adoption targets through 2040
02:02 – Canada’s openness to China and South Korea
02:54 – U.S. connected car software ban explained
03:36 – Automakers race to remove Chinese code
04:14 – Policy leadership shake-up inside the U.S. government
04:35 – Timeline for software and hardware bans
05:09 – Waymo’s robotaxi expansion
05:33 – Remote operators and regulatory concerns
05:58 – What lawmakers are questioning next
SOURCES
- Canada EV strategy and policy shifts: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/02/05/prime-minister-carney-launches-new-strategy-transform-canadas-auto
- Carmakers rush to remove Chinese code under new US federal rules: https://www.autoblog.com/news/carmakers-rush-to-remove-chinese-code-under-new-federal-rules
- Trump administration ousts official who banned Chinese vehicles: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-administration-pushes-out-official-whose-unit-banned-chinese-vehicles-2026-01-23/
- BYD January sales plunge highlight China EV tax credit expiry impact: https://insideevs.com/news/786553/byd-sales-plunged-in-january/
- Waymo operators in Philippines expose human-driven fleet: https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/waymos-controlled-workers-philippines
- Travel to US sees few surprises amid shifting travel and economy: https://www.ft.com/content/8f6d4196-6f61-4be9-8cb7-1d93253e4e8b
- Canada’s EV push reshapes auto trade and policy: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/world/canada/carney-canada-electric-vehicles-trump-trade.html
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