Quebec bet big on Lion electric school buses. Now critics say the plan has backfired

MONTREAL — The Quebec government’s aggressive push to electrify its school bus fleet — while giving one local manufacturer a virtual monopoly — could now be turning school bus operators off electric vehicles and delaying the transition, critics say.

The abrupt withdrawal of 1,200 Lion electric school buses from Quebec roads after a bus in Montreal caught fire last week is prompting renewed criticism of the provincial government’s approach to electrification.

Many school bus routes in Quebec remained cancelled Tuesday as bus operators completed inspections and made repairs to the vehicles’ wiring, following guidance from Lion. Three Lion buses have caught fire in the last year, though nobody has been injured and the buses’ batteries were not involved.

Chantale Dugas, president of the Que