The Government of Canada announced on Thursday it will be investing $2 million CAD ($1.57 million USD) for Hydro Ottawa to support the latter to install up to 350 electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the City of Ottawa, the nation’s capital city.
Funding for the project comes from the Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), with Hydro Ottawa selecting recipients for the installs “through a transparent process,” based on demand.
EV chargers in Ottawa will be spread out at public places, multi-unit residential buildings, on-streets, at workplaces or facilities for servicing light-duty vehicle fleets by September 2023, explains the government.
“We’re making electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Investing in more charging stations like the ones announced today in the City of Ottawa will allow more Canadians to be in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future and help achieve our climate goals,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources.
Canada says it has invested $1 billion since 2015 to “make EVs more affordable and accessible for Canadians,” with investments made so far set to bring 17,00 new chargers. The country has a target of 2035 to have all new vehicles sold as zero-emission.
Recently, Tesla increased the prices of its entry Model 3 in Canada, resulting in the latter no longer qualifying for the federal EV rebate program and also some other provincial EV rebate programs.
