September 22, 2025

By Blake Marchand

In Canada, the pressure that US tariffs have put on automakers has led to a recent decision by the federal government to pause and review their EV Availability Standard (EVAS), which set targets for automakers on EV sales and range of models. With that recent announcement, I thought it would be interesting to look at the EV landscape in Canada and provide a brief overview of EV sales, charging infrastructure, available incentives for EV charger installations, and some broader trends impacting the industry, like Plug & Charge and Vehicle-to-Grid.

EVAS was passed in 2022, and the targets were set to begin in 2026, requiring 20% of all new light-duty vehicles offered for sale in that model year be ZEVs (Zero Emissions Vehicles). The target increases annually to 60% in 2030 and 100% by 2035.

The Pembina Institute’s Adam Thorn expressed concern about the decision in a statement, saying that “Pausing, rather than adjusting, the standard undermines the certainty businesses need to invest in charging stations, grid upgrades, batteries, supply chains and workforce training. It also unfairly penalizes companies that have already made investments in EV production and infrastructure based on an expectation of clear, consistent policy.”

Electro-Federation Canada has also voiced their concern for the impact it will have on the broader industry.

Cherith Sinasac, EFC’s Director of Standards and Government Affairs echoed the Thorn’s sentiment, “More and more Canadians are aware that EVs are cheaper to operate, but affordability remains a key issue,” said Sinasac. “The EV Availability Standard’s most important objective is to provide consumers with real choice by ensuring a gradual and predictable increase in Battery-EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles supplied year after year. Stable policy and clear targets provide certainty to manufacturers and suppliers – certainty that is essential to fostering investment and innovation in Canadian supply chains.”

Setting gradually targets for EV sales and infrastructure installations provides the necessary signals to the industry. Various industry stakeholders – manufacturers, OEMs, utilities, distributors and contractors all need to know where EV adoption is going across the country to enable them to make the appropriate investments in tandem with those targets. The role of government incentives is to help bridge the gap for both consumers and companies, boosting sales companies and lowering upfront costs of EVs and chargers.

Provincial and federal governments have made investments to improve EV charging infrastructure, but Canada is far off the pace required to meet their targets there as well. Growing charger networks, as well as improving reliability are key concerns for potential EV owners.

In 2024, over 264,000 electric vehicles were sold,13.8 percent of vehicles sold were zero-emission. Those sales were driven by incentives that ended in Q4 2024. However, the trend underscores the impact that government regulations have on EV sales, adoption, and the over EV industry.

If you compare Q2 of 2024 to Q2 2025 sales are down by 19,000.

Quebec led the country in 2024, accounting for 53.9% of EV sales. ZEVs (Zero Emission Vehicles) accounted for 30.9 per cent of all new registrations in Quebec in 2024.

Canada’s ZEV incentive ended toward the end of 2024, as well as Quebec’s ZEV incentive, impacting sales so far in 2025.

As of March 2025, there are 33,767 total chargers across Canada.

The majority are Level 2 chargers (27,456), with 6,309 DC fast chargers and 12,955 total public stations. Canada added a total of 6,586 chargers from March 2024 to March 2025.

A report from Dunsky, commissioned by federal government, found the country would need 679,000 public charging ports across Canada by 2040, which would require 40,000 new chargers per year. The report says “significant” investment would be required by government and industry to meet targets. However, Canada seems to be stalling when it comes to incentives EV sales and charger installations. Provinces like Quebec and BC had maintained EV mandates, but other areas of the country, as well as nationally, there is less certainty.

EV & Charger Incentives

National:

The federal government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program is currently closed for applications.

Quebec:

Electric Circuit grant program for EV charging installations: the application program for 2025 is suspended, the program will resume in 2026.

British Columbia:

The CleanBC Go Electric Public Charger Program application window is closed for 2025.

Rebate Eligible EV Chargers in BC: A rebate of up to 50% of the purchase and installation costs of an eligible Level 2 EV charger, to a maximum of $350.

EV charger rebates for multi-unit residential buildings:

EV Ready rebates offer a maximum of $137,000 in funding per apartment, condo or townhome complex. This funding is broken up across the plan, infrastructure and chargers:

Up to $3,000 for EV Ready plan
Up to $120,000 for EV Ready infrastructure
Up to $14,000 for chargers

Electric vehicle charger rebate program for workplaces:

Workplace owners who purchase and install eligible EV chargers could receive a rebate of up to 50% of those costs. The rebate is available to a maximum of up to $2,000 per charger, and up to $14,000 per workplace, while funding lasts. A business can apply for a maximum of four of their workplace sites, resulting in a maximum project rebate of up to $56,000.

More Information

Manitoba:

Home Energy Efficiency Loan: Up to $3000 for a Level 2 EV Charger.

More information on EV Incentives across the country.

ISO 15118 Standard: Road vehicles – Vehicle to grid communication interface

Marc Mültin, Founder and CEO of Switch, and an author of the standard, explains that, “ISO 15118 will significantly affect the future of global electric vehicle charging because of these three key factors: Convenience to the customer that comes with Plug & Charge; The enhanced data security that comes with the cryptographic mechanisms defined in ISO 15118; Grid-friendly smart charging.”

Plug & Charge, Mültin explains, “enables the EV to automatically identify itself to the charging station and get authorized access to the energy it needs to recharge its battery. This is all based on the digital certificates and public-key infrastructures made available through the Plug & Charge feature.”

“During a charging session, security is paramount. The transaction, information about the vehicle and owner, the billing details, and the charging network all need to be protected from third-party manipulation. ISO 15118 ensures this happens with encryption, decryption, and two-way authentication,” explains driivz.

“Authentication standards allow the EV to automatically identify itself to the charging network and have the backend system “issue” validation, and then begin the charge. Each vehicle is linked to an individual billing account, whether personal, family, corporate, or other EV owner, and the transaction is accurately documented to reflect the energy that was supplied to the EV.”

Vehicles and Charging Networks that currently support Plug & Charge in Canada

Electrify Canada: BMW i7 (2023-2025), Lucid Air (2022-2025), Porche Taycan (2021-2025) and Macan Electric (2024-2025), Volkswagen ID.4 (2023-2025) and ID.Buzz.

FLO and GM Plug & Charge: GM EVs can use Plug & Charge at FLO DC Fast Chargers

Electric Circuit in Quebec: Electric Circuit launched Autocharge in July 2025, requires a one-time set-up through the Electric Circuit app. Most vehicles with a CCS Combo or NACS charging port are compatible with the Autocharge feature. Some vehicle models are not compatible, you can check your vehicle’s compatibility with Autocharge by adding the vehicle to your profile in the Electric Circuit mobile app.

Ford EVs can use Plug & Charge with Tesla network.

Vehicle-to-grid

ISO 15118 is also fundamental to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs.

There have been a handful of V2G pilot projects throughout of the country over the past few years. BC Hydro and Nova Scotia Power are two more recent examples.

As BC Hydro noted as part of the announcement for their vehicle-to-grid pilot, EVs can be used as a “mobile power source” that can be leveraged by the grid.

BC Hydro said as part of their announcement that “an electric school bus battery can store up to 200 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power 75 single-family homes for nearly two hours.”

“This project is a glimpse into the future of energy,” said Charlotte Mitha, President and CEO of BC Hydro. “By exploring how mobile assets like EVs can be strategically deployed, we’re unlocking new ways to strengthen the grid, improve resilience and deliver value to our customers and communities across B.C.”

After completion of the pilot, Lynch Bus Lines will be able to use electric school buses for more than just transporting students safely to and from school. When not in use, the buses will act as mobile energy resources, providing backup power to buildings during outages, ensuring critical services remain operational. They will also help manage electricity demand during peak periods, reducing strain on the grid. This dual functionality demonstrates how electric vehicles can deliver both transportation and energy solutions, creating new opportunities for resilience and efficiency in BC Hydro’s electricity system.

More information on BC Hydro V2X.

Nova Scotia Power recruited 200 participants for a vehicle-to-grid pilot project to allow them to “demonstrate utility-controlled smart charging and assess the potential of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional charging to mitigate peak demand impacts (both locally and grid-scale)”

The project showed cost savings by using smart charging and bidirectional charging. The smart charging element focused charging when renewable sources were high, while the bidirectional element, “allowed EV users to discharge their EV batteries back to the grid at times of low renewable generation to limit the need for fossil fuel electricity generation, while providing a financial incentive to EV owners.”

V2X is a catch-all term for the different variations of bi-directional charging. Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) allows an EV to power a small load through an outlet on the vehicle. Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) allows EV to supply power to the home. Vehicle-to-Building, obviously covers larger building applications, typically using electric buses or a group of EVs. And Vehicle-to-Grid, which enables energy to be supplied back to the grid.