Canada announced it is investing C$10.6 million in 14 EV charging infrastructure projects across the country, as the Government continues to extend the intent of its recently launched Auto Strategy — that includes a focus on electric vehicles.
The announcement was made on Wednesday at the EV & Charging Expo in Toronto, by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry Karim Bardeesy, on behalf of Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson.
The 14 projects are expected to install more than 1,600 chargers nationwide.
The federal Department of Natural Resources will also provide an additional C$1.1 million to the Plug’n Drive program — extending its cross-country EV test drive tour, first funded in 2024.
Targeted at small and medium-sized communities — where EV adoption remains lower than in major urban centres — the programme allows residents to compare multiple models and speak with EV experts in person.
“Canada’s new Auto Strategy laid out our plan for a connected, electric, clean future that creates jobs and makes it easy and affordable for Canadians to get around,” Hodgson said. “
According to the Minister, the Government aims to get “more EV chargers built every month so that Canadians can choose EVs with confidence.”
Bardeesy added that the funding would target chargers “where Canadians need them most,” both in Toronto, Ontario, and beyond.
Since 2016, Ottawa has committed more than C$1.2 billion to the deployment of EV chargers and hydrogen refuelling stations across the country, the government website states.
Auto Strategy
Tuesday’s funding extends the framework set out by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government in early February.
By then, Carney announced a C$2.3 billion EV Affordability Program.
The five-year program offers individuals and businesses up to C$5,000 for battery-electric and fuel-cell vehicles and C$2,500 for plug-in hybrids.
Eligibility is restricted to models priced under C$50,000 and produced in countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement — a price cap that does not apply to Canadian-made EVs.
The package also repealed the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard inherited from the Trudeau government and earmarked C$1.5 billion through the Canada Infrastructure Bank for charging deployment.
Carney’s strategy also includes focusing on attracting international partners besides the US — with which relations have been tainted by tariffs since last April.
The plan has faced opposition, however.
In March, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled a counter-proposal calling for a tariff-free auto pact with the United States, and the scrapping of the C$5,000 rebate for EVs.
Additionally, it pledged for the cancellation of Ottawa’s January trade deal with Beijing, allowing up to 49,000 Chinese-built EVs into Canada annually at a 6.1% tariff.
The Conservative Party’s motion was rejected in the House of Commons by 193 votes to 135, with all parties other than the Conservatives voting against.
Largest Operators
Among the country’s largest fuel retailers, Petro-Canada operates one of the longest-standing public fast-charging networks.
The network was completed in December 2019 as the country’s first coast-to-coast DC fast-charging corridor.
It currently includes more than 50 fast-charging sites, priced at a flat C$0.50 per minute with no connection or idling fees.
Existing hardware delivers between 60 kW and 200 kW, with units rated for upgrades to 350 kW.
By contrast, Tesla‘s Supercharger network in Canada bills per kWh — typically in the C$0.40–C$0.55/kWh range, with off-peak discounts at many sites — rather than by time.
The approach insulates drivers from the variability that affects per-minute pricing in cold weather or on slower-charging vehicles.
Tesla operates around 236 Supercharger sites and more than 2,850 stalls across the country, making it the largest single fast-charging network in Canada.
Its network is concentrated mainly in Ontario and British Columbia.
The company opened its largest Canadian site to date — a 44-stall location in Ajax, Ontario — in January.
It has continued adding stalls throughout the first quarter of 2026, including new openings in Comox, Abbotsford, Laval, Quebec City, Penhold and Ottawa.
Globally, Tesla passed the 80,000-stall mark in early April with the expansion of its Saint-Saturnin site in France, having added a total of 10,000 stalls in nine months.
The network is open to non-Tesla electric vehicles equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) — including recent additions from BMW and Stellantis brands.
Many brands have started adapting their charging systems to be compatible with Tesla‘s NACS-equipped Superchargers.
For example, Rivian — whose vehicles are sold across the US and Canada — originally equipped its first models with the Combined Charging System (CSS).
The EV maker has begun upgrading its charging network to include NACS charging posts and will include the port on its upcoming R2 model.
Chaevi Enters Canada Charging
Separately, South Korean charging hardware manufacturer Chaevi announced on Wednesday a new partnership with British Columbia-based Foreseeson Technology to expand its ultra-fast charging footprint in Canada.
Under the agreement, Chaevi will supply an initial 100 units of its 400-kW ultra-fast EV charging stations to Foreseeson in 2026, with annual deliveries rising to more than 200 from 2027.
Chaevi will also provide technical support, while Foreseeson will handle site development, installation, ownership and operation of the networks.
The first sites will be deployed in British Columbia, where Foreseeson is based.
EVs in Canada
The expansion of public charging contrasts with the slower pace of domestic EV production and sales.
Canada recorded roughly 1.9 million new vehicle sales in 2025, according to Statistics Canada.
ZEVs — including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) — saw a slowdown compared to 2024.
Data recently revealed by the Canadian Government showed that most EVs sold in Canada are foreign-built — with key sources being the United States, Japan, South Korea and, as of recently, Italy.
US-made affordable EVs sold in Canada dropped 62% from 18,831 units in 2023 to 7,201 in 2025 — on the tariff scenario and EV policy changes — while Japanese production nearly tripled from 3,470 to 9,438 units over the same period.
At the same time, only 1,370 Canadian-made EVs were sold in the country in 2025, down from 1,793 in 2023.
Stellantis remains the only automaker producing fully electric vehicles in Canada for the domestic market — the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid and the Dodge Charger EV.
Despite not falling under the eligibility cap for the EVAP, as they are domestically produced, it is worth noting that none of those units are priced below C$50,000.
Chinese-built vehicles, which begin entering the country this year under the new quota, are also not eligible for the EVAP rebate — which is restricted to vehicles produced domestically or in free-trade partner countries.
The average EV transaction price in Canada was C$57,600 in 2025, according to JD Power data.
