
Canada continues to fall behind on building up EV charging network: experts
OTTAWA — Canada continues to fall behind on efforts to build up a network of electric vehicle charging stations, even as the rising number of chargers along key corridors makes it easier for Canadians to take their EVs on longer trips, researchers say.
There are a little more than 35,000 charging stations across the country right now — well short of the 100,520 Canada needs to meet its policy goals for electric vehicles, researchers with the Montreal-based consultancy Dunsky Energy and Climate said in a report released last year.
In a 2021 analysis commissioned by Natural Resources Canada, Dunsky estimated Canada needed 52,000 chargers by this year. It revised that target in a report released in February 2024 to take into account the need for charging infrastructure for commercial fleets and secondary roads.
According to the most recent data from Natural Resources Canada, 88 per cent of Canada’s charging ports are in B.C., Ontario and Quebec — provinces which accounted for 92 per cent of new EV sales last year.