Canada bet billions on an EV boom. Was it too much, too soon?

The federal and provincial governments bet billions on the rapid rise of the electric vehicle industry. But major EV and battery projects in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have since been delayed, cancelled, suspended, substantially changed — and in one case, gone bankrupt — as automakers and suppliers adjust to weaker-than-anticipated demand. The latest is Volkswagen’s massive PowerCo battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., where production has been pushed back two years to 2029, because of “evolving market demand.” The setbacks are raising questions about whether Canada bet too big on how quickly the EV market would grow. Critics say…