Ottawa announces 400 EV charge stations for Manitoba, Saskatchewan

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This article was published 12/07/2022 (933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local electric vehicles are to get a jolt from the federal government this year.

On Tuesday morning at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid (parliamentary secretary to the minister of environment and climate change) announced an investment of more than $2.5 million in the Manitoba Motor Dealers Association and Eco-West Canada to help support the installation of 400 level two or three EV charging stations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“Making it easier for Canadians to transition to electric vehicles is one of the most effective ways we can limit carbon pollution and combat climate change,” Duguid said.

“Today’s announcement shows that the government of Canada is stepping up to the challenge by investing a coast-to-coast network of charging stations. With more charging stations available, Canadians can rest assured that they will safely and reliably navigate our cities and highways when driving electric vehicles.”

The investment is funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which aims to address the lack of charging and refuelling stations in Canada by 2027. Currently, transportation accounts for 25 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

Since 2015, Canada has invested $1 billion to make EVs more affordable and chargers more accessible.

“Our government is making electric vehicles more affordable and charging more accessible where Canadians live, work and play. Investing in more EV chargers across the country will put more Canadians in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future and help achieve our climate goals,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement.

Eco-West will be installing 100 of the charging stations, with the motor dealers group installing the remaining 300. The organizations were selected through a transparent process based on demand.

The chargers are to be installed in public spaces, multi-unit residential buildings, on streets, and at workplaces by the end of 2023.

“We at MMDA are excited to be a part of this journey to a net-zero future. Through our Lead the Charge Program and… Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, we will continue to support the development of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Manitoba, bringing us closer to our net-zero future,” group president Matt Walters said in a statement.

During the ongoing EV Week, the federal government has announced more than $45 million to install 6,000 EV chargers across the country.

To date, more than 150,000 Canadians and businesses have taken advantage of federal incentives to purchase zero-emission vehicles. The program has helped to reduce 6.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses over the lifetime of the vehicles.

bryce.hunt@freepress.mb.ca