Minister Wilkinson Announces Federal Support for EV Charging in Stratford, Ontario

STRATFORD, ON, Dec. 2, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadians are taking action to fight climate change and deliver clean air and a strong economy. Reducing pollution from the transportation sector is critical to Canada achieving its climate targets. That's why the Government of Canada is making it easier for Canadians to purchase, charge and drive electric vehicles (EVs) in Stratford, Ontario, and across the country, while saving money.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a $160,000 federal investment in the City of Stratford to install 23 EV chargers in public places across Stratford. The chargers will all be available by January 2025. The project also received $317,428 from the City of Stratford. The total project cost is $483,428.

Since 2016, the Government of Canada has invested a historic $1 billion to make EVs more affordable and chargers more accessible for Canadians. These investments are supporting the establishment of a coast-to-coast network of chargers in local areas where Canadians live, work and play, while federal rebates of up to $5,000 are helping more Canadians make the switch to an EV.

The Government of Canada continues to invest in decarbonizing the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector. Earlier today, Minister Alghabra announced two forthcoming calls for proposals. The first will seek projects for Stream 1 of the nearly $200-million Green Freight Program, which will help fleets improve energy efficiency and reduce both fuel costs and emissions. The second will launch a new medium- and heavy-duty stream under the Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative, supporting outreach, education and capacity-building activities to enable greater adoption of zero-emission vehicles and lower-emission alternatives across the sector in all regions of the country.

Budget 2022 delivered an additional $1.7 billion to extend the incentive program until March 2025 and to expand the types of vehicle models eligible under the program, which would include more vans, trucks, and SUVs. Canada is advancing toward the deployment of an additional 50,000 new chargers supported by $400 million in investments and $500 million in financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. 

These investments are yet another step in reaching Canada's target of ensuring all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada are zero-emission by 2035. And just like investments in everything from clean technology to nature protection, today's announcement is part of achieving Canada's ambitious climate change goals to build a clean and prosperous future for all Canadians.

"We're making electric vehicles more affordable and charging more accessible where Canadians live, work and play. Investing in more EV chargers, like the ones announced today in Stratford, Ontario, will put more Canadians in the driver's seat on the road to a net-zero future and help achieve our climate goals."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources

"I'm so pleased with the support from the National Resources Canada regarding the city's work on increasing the number of EV stations in our community. The $160,000 grant will assist us in the installation of a total of 23 EV stations in Stratford by 2025, one of which will have Level 3 fast charging capacity. The use of the EV charging stations will benefit our local residents and the 1.5 million plus yearly visitors to our city. This project certainly blends well with our city's strategic priorities, which includes the 30 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030."

Martin Ritsma
Mayor, City of Stratford

• Transportation accounts for 25 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
• Thanks to the funds invested to date by the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), more than 34,500 new charging stations will be installed from coast to coast by 2027.
• Budget 2022 provided Natural Resources Canada's ZEVIP with an additional $400 million, and Canada's Infrastructure Bank will invest $500 million to deploy an additional 50,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2027.
• To date, over 150,000 Canadians and Canadian businesses have taken advantage of the federal incentive to purchase a zero-emission vehicle.
• Budget 2022 provided up to nearly $4 billion over eight years for the implementation of the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, with the aim of advancing the development of critical minerals resources and value chains ? including metals for clean technologies like electric vehicles and advanced batteries ? to enable the transition to a low-carbon economy and support advanced technology and manufacturing.

• Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program
• Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative
• Zero-Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative
• Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration Program
• 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
• Travelling with an Electric Vehicle
• Electric Charging and Alternative Fuelling Stations Locator
• Investing in Canada Plan Project Map
• Green Infrastructure programs
• Zero-emission vehicles: Incentives
• Building a green economy: Government of Canada to require 100% of car and passenger truck sales be zero-emission by 2035 in Canada
• Canada Infrastructure Bank
• The City of Stratford

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada