Is Canada's infrastructure prepared for the electric vehicle boom?

Canada's infrastructure may need an overhaul to accommodate millions more electrical vehicles by 2035 -- part of the federal government's goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. CTVNews.ca speaks with experts about whether Canada is prepared for this electric vehicle boom.

By 2035 all cars, SUVs and light trucks sold in Canada must be electric, a goal experts describe as an ambitious one by the federal government as part of its plan to decarbonize the transportation sector and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

But will Canada’s infrastructure be able to handle all of these new electric vehicles?

There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer, as experts in the automotive and green energy industries say there are several factors to consider.

According to the federal government’s data, electric vehicles only made up 5.3 per cent of new vehicle registrations, or 86,000 vehicles, in Canada in 2021.

The Liberal government’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan outlines an increase of up to 395,000 new Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) sales in 2026; 1.2 million ZEVs in 2030; and a whopping 2 million ZEVs sold in 2035 -- which translates to 5 per cent, 16 per cent and 40 per cent of all light-duty vehicles on the road.

There are several elements to improving Canada’s electric vehicle infrastructure. The most obvious is the need for a dramatic increase in charging stations, of which the federal government has committed over $1 billion to build 84,000 over the next four years.

Daniel Breton, the president of Electric Mobility Canada, a national not-for-profit working to advance electric mobility in Canada, said one of the main issues today in electric vehicle infrastructure is that there just aren’t enough of them for sale.