Canada Invests $1.8 Million for EV Initiatives in BC and Quebec

The Canadian government has been working hard to start building a zero-emissions future in recent months, through both rebates and incentives for electric vehicle (EV) buyers, as well as through the expansion of an EV fast-charging network.

On Wednesday, Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan Jr. announced plans for a $50,000 (CAD) investment into a fast-charger station in North Vancouver, British Columbia, as funded by Canada’s EV and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, according to a press release. The fast charger is will be available to the public and gives drivers easy access to the TransCanada highway.

New Tesla Superchargers Coming to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan https://t.co/BgRzXHxnT4

— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) March 24, 2021

O’Regan Jr. said, “Canadians want greener options to get to where they need to go. We’re making EVs more affordable and charging infrastructure readily available, allowing Canadians to be in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future.”

Alongside the investment, which is expected to help consumers adopt EVs on a mainstream level, the City of North Vancouver and the Government of British Columbia helped fund the project, with the total cost amounting to $140,000 (CAD).

Other initiatives announced by Canada on Wednesday:

• $1.7 million to British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to address barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption; FLO | AddÉnergie, the City of New Westminster, IBX Data Systems and Sun Country Highway, also investing in the project, total funding to hit $4.1 million
• Fondation québécoise d’éducation en sécurité routière will receive a $50,000 investment for a campaign aimed at new drivers, to tout EV benefits to young drivers in Quebec
• Recharge Véhicule Électrique will receive a $50,000 investment for a campaign aimed at Canadians living in multi-unit residential buildings in Quebec

Canada’s federal government has been very forward with EV initiatives and has invested more than $600 million total into EV charging, rebate, and incentive projects, all the help the population move towards zero-emission vehicles.

EV sales more than doubled in B.C. between 2019 and 2020, and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales alone rose 10% in the same year.