The Ontario government is providing more funding to build thousands of new electric vehicle charging stations in small and medium-sized communities.
Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria was joined by Bay of Quinte MPP and Energy Minister Todd Smith, Northumberland Peterborough South MPP and Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini and Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky for Friday’s announcement in Port Hope.
“Building more public charging stations is part of our government’s plan to be a global leader in the electric vehicle industry and provide more travel options for commuters,” said Sarkaria. “The EV ChargeON program will help get more electric vehicles on the road by building the infrastructure needed to support them, while securing a better future for Ontario.”
The province is now accepting applications to the program to build publicly accessible charging stations in communities with fewer than 170,000 people, as well as in any Indigenous community in Ontario.
The $91 million investment in the EV ChargeON program will also help build more EV chargers on government-owned land, including Ontario’s highway rest areas, carpool parking lots and tourist destinations such as Ontario Parks.
Smith says the program will deliver thousands of chargers across the province, making EV travel easier than ever.
As of September this year, there were more than 135,000 electric vehicles registered in Ontario with that number expected to exceed one million by 2030.
There are currently more than 2,900 public charging stations with 7,900 ports (or outlets) in Ontario. These include 6,600 Level 2 ports and 1,300 Level 3 fast-charging ports.
