Canada invests $5M to manufacture electric vehicle fast chargers in Quebec

January 23, 2019 – The federal government is investing $5 million in the production of 100 electric vehicle fast chargers across Quebec.

Built by Hydro-Québec with funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative (EVAFIDI), these chargers will be part of Hydro-Québec’s Electric Circuit — the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in Canada. The fast-charging infrastructure will span major highways from Abitibi to Côte-Nord.

“With the support of our private, institutional and governmental partners, we can deploy an increasing number of chargers for electric vehicle drivers,” says Éric Martel, chief executive officer, Hydro-Québec. “The electrification of transportation in Quebec benefits everyone: individuals, since using electricity for driving is five times cheaper than using gas and, collectively, since we are using clean and renewable energy to drive where we need to go.”

The EVAFIDI program, which will see the establishment of a coast-to-coast charging network for electric vehicles, natural gas sations along key freight corridors and stations for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in metropolitan centres, is part of the Government of Canada’s $182.5-billion Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, 

This investment also includes support for the demonstration of next-generation charging technologies, as well as the development of binational (Canada and the United States) codes and standards for low-carbon vehicles and infrastructure.