Calgary: Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, announced February 13 that it is building a network of electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations across the country.
More than 50 EV stations will be installed along the Trans-Canada highway at strategically located Petro-Canada stations from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. Construction is set to begin this spring with sites opening over the next year.
Petro-Canada stations will offer DC fast chargers with both CHAdeMO and CCS/SAE connectors that support a broad range of vehicles. The chargers can provide up to a 200 kilowatt charge – enough to provide an 80 per cent charge to most EVs in less than 30 minutes. The units are capable of 350 kilowatt charging with future upgrades.
A test site is currently operational at 235 Steeles Ave. in Milton, Ont.
A poll released March 14 by Abacus Data finds that Canadians believe the future of the consumer vehicle market will be defined by electric vehicles, “and they hope it happens pretty quickly.”
• Most (64%) say that if it were up to them, electric cars would become the majority of vehicles that consumers drive at some point in the future. And even more (72%) say that this is bound to happen at some point.
• Asked how long it will take for this shift to occur, 71% predict it will happen in 15 years or less, including 56% who say it will happen in 10 years or less.
• Asked what the ideal timing for this shift would be, 79% hope it happens in 10 years or less, including about half (49%) who would like to see it within 5 years.
• If they were buying a new car, more consumers would lean towards an electric vehicle, rather than a gas model. 10% say they are certain they would buy an electric vehicle, and another 14% say they are very likely to.
Bruce Anderson, Chairman of Abacus Data, commented, “The first electric car was invented before Ford’s Model T, and then growth in the technology stalled out for about a hundred years. But the confluence of concerns about climate change, air quality, and a sense that the technology is both greatly improved and more affordable suggest that the world may be poised for a remarkable acceleration of electric vehicles. Public policy can play a major role in the pace of this change – with charging infrastructure high up on the list of things that governments can do. Skepticism about electric vehicles may have been a good bet for the last 20 years, but skeptics may want to hedge that bet now.”
The survey was conducted online with 1,495 Canadian residents aged 18 and over, from March 11 to 13, 2019.
For a full list of the Petro-Canada locations where an EV fast charge will be available, visit petro-canada.ca/ev.