Ontario Investing $20M in EV Charging Stations

December 11, 2015

The province is putting its new Climate Change Strategy into action by investing $20 million this year from the Ontario Green Investment Fund to build more public charging stations for electric vehicles.

Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray made the announcement at the United Nations’ 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) on climate change in Paris, France.

Through the $20 million grant program, the province is seeking public and private sector partners to create a network of fast-charging electric vehicle stations in cities, along highways and at workplaces, apartments, condominiums and public places across Ontario. Full program details will be available later this month.

A shift to low- and zero-emission vehicles is vital to achieving Ontario’s greenhouse gas pollution reduction target of 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.Ontario’s new $325 million Green Investment Fund commits money for projects that fight climate change.

Transportation in Ontario is the single-largest emitting sector in the province’s economy. Greenhouse gases from cars account for more emissions than those from industries such as iron, steel, cement, and chemicals combined. With a growing population and expanding urban regions, transportation emissions pose one of the province’s greatest challenges in achieving its emissions targets.

About 5,400 electric vehicles are currently registered in Ontario.