Electric vehicle numbers have 'exploded' but too few charging stations in Ontario, experts say

As the 2023 Canadian International Auto Show makes its return to Toronto for the first time since 2020, industry experts say growing demand for electric vehicles is putting pressure on Ontario to expand its charging infrastructure.

"We have to keep up with the EV sales [and] we have to keep up with the infrastructure," said Kevin Lisso, CEO and co-founder of EnerSavings, a Toronto-based green energy company that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by working with commercial, industrial and residential businesses.

Lisso said Ontario is lagging behind other provinces like Vancouver and Quebec in EV sales and charging infrastructure. 

"[We] do not have a provincial rebate and I don't know why," he said. "We've been told it's coming and it's coming and it's coming, but we haven't seen it yet."

Jason Campbell, the auto show's general manager, said this year looks a lot different than previous years.

"We've seen a huge change in the industry. Most of them are planning a full electric future," Campbell said.

"The industry's really exploded in terms of every manufacturer that's on the floor either has a product here on the floor that's fully electric or is in development."

Campbell said the show has roughly 10 times the number of electric cars featured this year in comparison to 2020.

But when it comes to infrastructure, he said Ontario in its current state is "not what it needs to be."

Lisso said while there is great demand for EV's in Canada, as more people continue to purchase them and as supply increases, charging stations in places like condos and malls won't be able to keep up.

His company's Energy Management System aims to tackle this. The system is an intelligent subscription plan which installs EV charger infrastructure for people in multi-residential buildings and adapts to increasing demand.

"You go into a condo right now, maybe out of 200 people, 10 people are looking for a charger," Lisso said.

"But you have to think about the next 10 that are coming in six months and the next 10 the next six months. So you've got to build an infrastructure."

As of last year, up to five per cent of all vehicles in Canada are either fully electric or hybrid, and that percentage is expected to climb in the coming years.  By 2035, the federal government insists that all new vehicles in Canada will be electric.