Government of Canada Investments in Electric Vehicles
Backgrounder
Everyone has a role to play in tackling climate change. The widespread shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is critical to decarbonizing on-road transportation, which account for 20 percent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions — of which 50 percent is produced by light-duty vehicles (LDV), or passenger cars.
In addition, clean fuels, such as clean hydrogen, advanced biofuels, liquid synthetic fuels and renewable natural gas will play a critical role in hard to decarbonize sectors such as industry and medium- and heavy-duty freight.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced a federal investment of $7.5 million in 35 projects through the Zero-Emissions Vehicles Awareness Initiative (ZEVAI) that will be raising awareness and educating Canadians about zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), public charging and refueling infrastructure, and clean fuels.
Funding breakdown by Areas of Focus:
- MHDV – $4,236,774
- LDV – $1,947,928
- Clean Fuels – $1,321,750
To easily access information online, the newly launched zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure funding landing page is helping Canadian businesses and organizations find and access the funding opportunities best suited to their ZEV infrastructure projects. This tool was developed by Natural Resources Canada in collaboration with Infrastructure Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
| Funding Stream | Proponent Name | Project (location) | Description | Funding amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean Fuels | Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF) | Toronto, ON | This project will raise awareness of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) through the creation and marketing of webinars, videos, courses, and communications activities for stakeholders across the aviation fuel value chain, from production to end use. | $112,500 |
| Clean Fuels | Dalhousie University (SuperNOVA) | Halifax, NS | This project seeks to bridge educational gaps in clean fuels, promote STEM education, address climate change concerns, and encourage youth (Grades 2–8) participation in STEM fields through in-person workshops, a web series, videos, and the creation of teacher toolkits. | $300,000 |
| Clean Fuels | NEI Association Inc. o/a econext | Torbay, NL | This project will increase education and awareness in Newfoundland and Labrador with key stakeholders related to the decarbonization potential of clean fuels through a series of specialized workshops for eight targeted sectors. | $224,250 |
| Clean Fuels | The City of Mississauga | Mississauga, ON | The project will focus on the development of a local hydrogen ecosystem by engaging project partners and local businesses to build awareness related to business opportunities for hydrogen fuel, equipment production and use in Mississauga and the surrounding Greater Toronto Area (GTA). | $160,000 |
| Clean Fuels | The Gaia Project | Fredericton, NB | This project will support the development and launch of an Atlantic Canada clean fuels education program (Grades 9–12) and public awareness campaign in partnership with The New Brunswick Lung Association. These initiatives will focus on the impact of clean fuels, including hydrogen, biomass, and renewable natural gas, as well as transportation. | $225,000 |
| Clean Fuels | BC Bioenergy Network Association (BCBN) | Vancouver, BC | This project aims to raise awareness and fill crucial knowledge gaps around the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of fuels impacted by Clean Fuel Regulations. The objective is to develop and provide online eLearning courses as part of a micro-credential certification program in life-cycle assessments and carbon-intensity determination to comply with the Federal Clean Fuels Regulations. The training will build on the micro-credential courses being developed through the organization’s current clean fuels awareness project by expanding the micro-credential program into forestry and LCA accounting sectors. | $300,000 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | City of Edmonton | Edmonton, AB | This project aims to remove barriers to adoption of ZEVs, focusing on micro-mobility options across the City of Edmonton through community-based events, test rides, webpage creation and a communications campaign. | $300,000 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | GreenLearning Canada Foundation | Drayton Valley, AB | This project seeks to equip educators, school boards and ministries of education across Canada with the tools and knowledge necessary to prepare high-school students for a future centered around EV (electric vehicles) technology and green automotive education by providing updated curriculum, educator training, resources, and hands-on toolkits. The project includes providing schools with the expertise to have student-led initiatives to covert ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles to EVs (electric vehicles) and hold public events to highlight their work. | $250,000 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | Coopérative de Solidarité Carbone-Coop Carbone | Quebec City, QC | This project will promote sustainable urban delivery practices through the development of an online resource centre and the creation of a community of practice focused on existing solutions for light-duty vehicles/micromobility solutions targeted to delivery organizations, large and medium-sized municipalities, and consumers. | $205,500 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | The City of Calgary | Calgary, AB | This project will bring education and awareness to electric mobility and micro-mobility solutions in the City of Calgary through the creation of an educational toolkit and in-person and online events. | $300,000 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) | Edmonton, AB | This project will support the creation of a micro-credential program that focuses on maintaining, repairing, and servicing battery-electric and plug-in hybrid EVs to increase knowledge and awareness of EV repair, maintenance, and service standards among Canadian automotive and auto body industries. | $299,374 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | Ecohive Inc | Toronto, ON | This project aims to create a web portal to provide comprehensive resources, including interactive tools to facilitate informed decision-making for purchasing zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The web portal will include: an EV savings calculator, a buyer's guide, provincial rebate information, EV glossary, EV dealership guide, EV-charger estimator tool and other ZEV services-locator tools. | $100,000 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | Clean Nova Scotia Foundation | Dartmouth, NS | This project aims to create a guidebook that will empower and educate first-time EV buyers, promote sustainable driving habits, and support the growth of the EV market. The guidebook will provide clear information about EV technology, charging options, ownership benefits and practical guidance on vehicle selection and incentives. It will address common misconceptions and concerns, such as range anxiety and charging infrastructure, and will improve the ownership experience, ensure accessibility, and boost confidence among new and potential buyers. | $92,779 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | HUB Cycling | Vancouver, BC | The project aims to promote the adoption of e-bikes for transportation through e-bike safety courses, free trials at community events, e-cargo bike demonstrations, online courses, webinars, and comprehensive communication campaigns to encourage cycling frequency, confidence, and safety across British Columbia. | $241,575 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | The Corporation of the County of Dufferin | Orangeville, ON | This project is a public outreach and education project with the intention to address gaps in electric vehicle awareness in rural communities, including benefits, costs, infrastructure needs and available incentives. | $46,200 |
| Light-Duty Vehicles (LDV) | City of Saskatoon | Saskatoon, SK | The project aims to address Saskatoon’s zero-emission vehicle adoption barriers, such as low awareness, high costs, language accessibility and skepticism among older residents by matchmaking tech providers and users, launching a multilingual online ZEV hub and utilizing city resources for wider ZEV adoption. | $112,500 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Newcom Media Inc. | Toronto, ON | This project will support the development of a new online platform, Zero In, to create and distribute online content with the goal of fostering increased awareness and uptake of ZEV technologies within the trucking sector through podcasts, videos, infographics, case studies and other resources. | $161,127 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium | Toronto, ON | This project will create a resource platform (TransitXcell), a comprehensive hub for zero-emission public transit information with the goal of accelerating the adoption and advancement of transit fleet decarbonization in Canada. The project will engage with industry leaders, underrepresented regions, and Indigenous groups to inform content and bridge information gaps to promote inclusive and fair access to resources. | $300,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | The Transition Accelerator | Calgary, AB | This project will create a guide for decision makers in fleet-based organizations to procure hydrogen vehicles and fuelling solutions and support the industry transition to net zero. The resource will primarily focus on procurement within the MHDV sector and will also include information related to transit and LDVs. | $150,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Community Energy Association | Vancouver, BC | This project seeks to bridge knowledge gaps hindering the adoption of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles by local governments and in regions across British Columbia. The project aims to empower stakeholders, including local governments, fleet operators and the public, to transition fleets by providing tangible and locally relevant resources that enable fleet transitions, build internal and industry capacity to procure and maintain MHDV ZEVs, and help communities to communicate the benefits of zero-emission technology to consumers and residents. | $300,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Trucking Human Resource Sector Council | Truro, NS | This proposed project aims to address critical issues related to sustainable transportation in the trucking industry by creating training programs on ZEVS (Zero-Emission Vehicles) and clean transformation technologies targeting fleet drivers, managers, procurement officers and consumers. The training modules will include introduction in MH ZEVs, benefits of MH ZEVs, how to drive MH ZEVs, mechanical awareness, pre-trip inspections, regulations, maintenance, and safety. | $295,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Transportation Energy Institute | Nepean, ON | The project will increase awareness of low- and zero-emission MHDVs through an education/awareness campaign and the development of online resources to support decision-making for Canadian-based (public and private) organizations considering the purchase or lease of low- or zero-emissions MHDV fleet vehicles. | $300,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Toronto and Region Conservation Authority | Vaughan, ON | The project will provide guidance on assessing the ZEV technologies of hydrogen, electric battery, compressed/renewable natural gas, and renewable diesel, which will be delivered through targeted-outreach, education, resource creation and capacity-building events via online and in-person engagements. | $225,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | McMaster University | Hamilton, ON | The project will support the development of an interactive online knowledge hub to inform and de-risk the adoption of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in Canada by providing informative, evidence-based educational tools, thorough technology assessment models and access to relevant best practices. | $174,292 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Edmonton Global | Edmonton, AB | The project will support development of a comprehensive plan on the socio-economic and environmental investment required to establish a hydrogen corridor in Western Canada connecting Edmonton, Calgary, BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba that would facilitate in decarbonizing the heavy-duty trucking industry. | $300,000 |
|
Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) |
Parvasi Sahayta Foundation | Mississauga, ON | The project will support increased awareness of MHDV zero-emission vehicles through resource creation and targeted engagements with the South Asian Punjabi community (comprising a large portion of the overall workforce), including small businesses, owner/operator fleets and drivers. | $248,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | The Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development | Calgary, AB | This project will research the barriers of entry to ZEV adoption in underserved communities and develop a tailored plan for overcoming those barriers through a spectrum of outreach/engagement activities and awareness campaigns. | $200,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | ECO Canada | Calgary, AB | The project will support awareness initiatives catered toward farmers, rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, and transportation companies across Canada by providing education, developing resource materials, and conducting awareness sessions and webinar series. | $299,902 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | The Pollution Probe Foundation | Toronto, ON | The project will provide fleet owners, electrical utilities, hydrogen infrastructure providers and all other relevant stakeholders with a market readiness assessment to plan for the required upgrades and investments needed to support the adoption of zero-emission Class 8 vehicles. | $75,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Newfoundland Power | St. John's, NL | This project aims to increase knowledge, awareness, and confidence in electric MHDVs and enable greater adoption across Newfoundland and Labrador by developing a foundational program that provides first-hand experience, support, and information to help inform purchase decisions among local commercial customers. | $192,500 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | FPInnovations | Pointe-Clare, QC | The project will provide knowledge and increase confidence and awareness in zero-emission, low-emission, and renewable alternative- fuel vehicles through demonstrations, short operational trials, and highlights to increase implementation of green technologies in the Canadian forestry and commercial transportation sectors. | $212,750 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | The University of Manitoba | Winnipeg, MB | Through this project the Proponent will identify barriers faced by long-haul carriers in the Canadian Prairies (with an emphasis on Manitoba) that currently limit the feasibility of heavy-duty zero- and lower-emission vehicles and raise awareness for ways to overcome those barriers. | $289,992 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Electric Mobility Canada | Ile des Sœurs, QC | The project will leverage EMC’s relationship with the North American Council on Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and their role in the 2023 Run on Less – Electric Depot to secure the participation of at least 2–3 additional Canadian fleets in the campaign to inform the analytics, metrics and learnings presented to conference and workshop attendees in a Canadian context. | $205,000 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT) | Sudbury, ON | The project aims to increase the confidence of BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) among workers and mining companies through an underground BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) demonstration, curriculum development and deployment, and hands-on experimental training to support greater adoption of zero-emission vehicles among the mining industry. | $225,061 |
| Medium- to Heavy-duty Vehicles (MHDV) | Clean Energy Canada | Burnaby, BC | The objective of the project is to increase the adoption of low-emission and zero-emission MHDV options by mobilizing reports, case studies and other materials (produced as part of an ECCC project) to relevant public and private stakeholders. Clean Energy Canada is receiving funding through ECCC to understand and address barriers to ZEV – MHDV adoption. NRCan support would complement this project by broadening and maximizing the awareness efforts related to the materials produced from the ECCC project through federal/provincial briefings and other stakeholder engagement activities such as webinars and conferences. | $83,150 |
Page details
- Date modified: