Canada invests billions in charging infrastructure and grid upgrades
The Canadian government is investing in the expansion of electric vehicle charging and grid infrastructure with investments of just over $634 million. The new investment should roughly double the more than 50,000 chargers supported through existing programs. The EV charging initiative is further supported by the government’s national electricity strategy with over $50 billion to be invested in doubling the capacity of Canada’s grid by 2050.
Image: Mercedes-Benz North America
The electric vehicle charging program is tied to $587 million to renew the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP). The program had been set to expire next year. If approved by the Canadian Parliament, the renewed funding will be distributed over five years starting in 2027. Another $45 million over five years will go toward charging infrastructure research and development, while $2.2 million will support the federal government’s transition to zero-emission vehicles. Combined, the investments total $634.2 million.
The ZEVIP is a fund targeting public EV charging developments, covering up to 50 per cent of project expenses, or 75 per cent of Indigenous-led projects, with caps of up to $2 million per project. If approved by Parliament, the renewed funding is expected to support more than 55,000 additional chargers in what the budget calls “areas where the infrastructure is needed most.”
Travis Allan, president and CEO of the Canadian Charging Infrastructure Council (CCIC), told Canadian publication _Electric Autonomy_, “We’ll be looking to make sure that we have great programs in place to deal with the barriers faced by people living in condos and apartments, public fast charging, which needs to cover major corridors and metropolitan areas, and then also charging for fleets and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which make up a major share of transportation emissions.”
The funding for EV charging research and development is earmarked for Natural Resources Canada, which would receive the $45 million over five years, also starting in 2027-28. “We’re interested to see how those will be spent because we have so many great companies that are working in and innovating in the charging ecosystem,” said Allan.
At the same time, the Canadian government is planning major electrical grid upgrades. Among the biggest elements is an investment of nearly $4 billion over 10 years, starting in 2027-28, for electricity infrastructure expansion, renewable energy and priority grid projects. This includes new funding for the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program.
Here, Natural Resources Canada would also be supplied with $26.4 million over 10 years for data and modelling to guide grid planning. The budget also earmarks $1.6 billion over 10 years with the purpose of modernising the power systems in northern and remote communities.
Daniel Breton, president and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, has said the funding is encouraging, noting the five-year ZEVIP window, which he said can make planning and acquiring financing easier. He also spoke positively of the planned grid upgrades. “It’s one thing to install chargers,” he said. “We have to get the electricity to go to the chargers.”
At the same time, Breton expressed disappointment that the new federal budget has not envisaged additional funding for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, EV education or battery recycling. Canada’s Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) program already ended on March 15, 2026, with no federal replacement so far.