Canada needs 19 million EV charging ports by 2040, report finds
A new report says the country must build millions of charging stations to support an expected 21 million electric vehicles on the roads.
Canada will need 19 million electric vehicle charging ports by 2040 to support the roughly 21 million EVs expected on its roads by then, according to a new report from the Canadian Climate Institute.
The report, titled Leading the Charge, notes the country currently has about one million chargers, meaning the total must increase nearly twentyfold over the next 16 years.
"Transitioning from a nation run on internal combustion engines to one that operates mainly using electric motors is an essential element of Canada’s path to net zero," the report states.
The institute says the vast majority of those future installations are expected to be in people’s homes, and most new chargers will likely be easily and cheaply installed when households purchase an EV.
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This means governments will not have to plan and build the bulk of the necessary infrastructure, the report says, calling it a "good news story for Canada’s energy transition."
However, the analysis identifies four main barriers with the potential to block the buildout and slow the transition to EVs, all of which require policy interventions to fully overcome.
The report recommends an approach that tackles both the supply and demand sides of the problem, combining broad regulatory approaches, changes to electricity markets and targeted funding support.
It says automakers, charging providers and Canadian EV owners alike need policy certainty to proceed with confidence.
"Yesterday, the federal government announced that the tailpipe emissions standards will remain at 2026 levels until 2030, which compromises this certainty in the near term," the report states.
Getting Canada back on track to reach its goal of 75 per cent EV sales by 2035 and 90 per cent by 2040 will require future tailpipe emission standards to ramp up quickly after 2030, according to the report.
The federal government should provide direct support for the buildout of charging infrastructure in rural and remote communities, the institute says, noting substantial gaps in Canada’s fast charging network across the national highway system.
It says the federal government should do the same for people living in multi-unit residential buildings, as can provincial and territorial governments, which have more direct control over building codes and electricity grids.
Provincial governments should follow the lead of Quebec and update building codes to regulate that all new multi-unit residential buildings are EV-ready, the report recommends.
Provincial governments should also guide grid regulators to enable rate design that makes demand charges economically viable at all stages of the transition, and maximize managed charging for Level 2 chargers.
The report says Canada’s vehicle emissions standards have been delayed but are still in the works, along with the federal charging strategy.
"The best way to ensure a smooth ride for all is to get moving now on building the charging infrastructure that will require," the report concludes. "There are 18 million little steps from here to a fully electrified future for passenger transport."
With files from Canadian Climate Institute