As part of its effort to boost electrification in Canada, the federal government has announced that it will invest $18.6 million in multiple organizations to install more than
1,600 Level 2 and Level 3 electric vehicle chargers in Toronto, Ontario, and across the country.
The news came from Julie Dabrusin, MP for Toronto–Danforth and Parliamentary Secretary to Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “To support Canadians driving EVs, where they live, work, travel and play, the Government of Canada is helping to build reliable and available charging options.”
Funding was provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, with NRCan investments having already helped deploy over 41,000 EV.
In a news release, NRCan said one in eight new vehicles sold in Canada in the first quarter of the year were zero-emission vehicles.
They also highlighted that ramping up to 100 per cent new EV sales by 2035 is projected to avoid nearly $100 billion in global economic damages - although the automotive industry sees other issues with the timeline of this goal.
NRCan also said more than 60 models qualify for the federal iZEV purchase incentive in 2024, which is significantly more than pre-pandemic (up nearly 140 per cent since).
Over 200,000 Canadians have already accessed the iZEV incentives.