The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is announcing a new program to triple the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Canada.
The $500-million program will finance around 50,000 public EV charging stations over the next two to three years.
This is not a new announcement for those who paid attention to the federal budget announcement back in April.
The $500-million investment was announced alongside $400-million for a zero-emission vehicle infrastructure project led by Natural Resources Canada.
In addition to EV chargers, the CIB was also mandated to look at emerging green technologies. These include things such as:
- Small modular reactors
- Hydrogen charging
- Carbon capture, utilization and storage
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, the CIB Chief Executive Ehren Cory said this:
Canadians want to transition to zero-emission vehicles. We’re ready to move ahead and expand the availability of charging infrastructure.
The CIB was stood up back in 2017 with a $35-billion capital budget to fund projects around Canada.
It is designed as a major source of funding and targets projects in the $100-million range.
In the coming days, we should see more details about the project, including how the CIB plans to work with municipalities, provinces and local businesses to find spaces and fund EV charger construction.
