Canadian Climate Institute Report: Leading the Charge
November 11, 2026
Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is essential to enable the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs.
EVs—alongside modal shift to electrified public transit and active transport—are key to Canada meeting its net zero targets and electrification ambitions. EVs can improve the lives of Canadians through better air quality and health outcomes, lower costs for drivers, and improved grid flexibility and stability.
But Canadians cannot make the switch alone—Canada needs to build out the network of charging infrastructure to enable this transition. Modelling indicates that the number of EVs and chargers will need to scale up rapidly for Canada to remain on track for net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050—with an estimated 19 million chargers supporting 21 million EVs by 2040. This is a jump from around one million chargers and one million EVs today.
While these estimates contain big numbers, almost all additional future chargers are expected to be in people’s homes, and could be easily and cheaply installed when households purchase an EV. The private sector and some utilities are already beginning to build out the public charging network across Canada today, with some government support.
But four areas remain where barriers are preventing the necessary buildout:
- EVs and public charging infrastructure risk getting stuck in a chicken-and-egg dynamic—building more chargers depends on having more EVs on the road while having more EVs on the road depends on having more chargers.
- In remote and rural areas, there may never be high enough utilization of charging infrastructure for the private sector to provide charging.
- Residents of multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) risk getting left behind due to split incentives, as well as the higher costs and complexities of installing EV chargers.
- EV charging could be an asset for the grid, if it’s built to enable flexible electricity demand—in most places, it isn’t, yet.
For each of these problems, there are multiple potential solutions. Many of these options are complementary, and a portfolio of policies may be required to deliver a reliable, equitable charging network.
Overall, we propose an approach that tackles both the supply and demand sides of the chicken-and-egg problem, combining broad, economy-wide regulatory approaches, specific changes to regulated electricity markets, and targeted funding support. This combination can deliver both benefits for consumers and emissions reductions, while limiting fiscal costs for taxpayers. We make the following recommendations:
- The federal government should set and maintain sufficiently stringent tailpipe standards to put Canada on track to reach its goal of 75 per cent EV sales by 2035 and 90 per cent EV sales by 2040.
- The federal government should provide dedicated support for charging infrastructure in rural and remote communities and in MURBs.
- Provincial and territorial governments should regulate all new MURBs to be EV ready.
- Provincial and territorial governments should direct regulators to enable rate design that makes demand charges economically viable at all stages of the transition.
- Provincial and territorial governments should direct regulators to maximize managed charging for L2 chargers.
