Aviva and Earth Day Canada’s Charged for Change program has at least 2,600 charging sessions and 8,300 hours of use at its EV chargers

The third round of applications for the Charged for Change program is now open to Canadian municipalities and Indigenous communities seeking funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects.

Charged for Change was launched in 2023 by insurance provider Aviva Canada, in partnership with Earth Day Canada. The program has a $3 million budget to support the installation of Level 2 EV chargers in underserved locations.

“We are thrilled to open applications for the third year of our Charged for Change program and are looking forward to helping even more Canadian communities install public EV infrastructure for their residents,” says Pascal Dessureault, Aviva Canada’s chief public affairs, marketing and communications officer in a press release.

“We know that a lack of publicly available EV charging infrastructure can be a barrier to EV adoption and want to support Canadians, particularly those in communities with little to no access, in making the switch to an EV.”

Program achievements so far

In its first year, Charged for Change funded 37 Level 2 EV chargers at 16 sites across seven municipalities.

The program restricted applications to Ontario during its first year. The municipalities selected were the Town of Pelham, the Township of Selwyn, The County of Prince Edward, the Town of Thessalon, the Municipality of East Ferris, the Township of Manitouwadge, and the Township of Essa.

As of mid-September 2024, these charging stations have provided a total of 2,600 charging sessions and 8,300 hours of charging.

In its second year, the program expanded across Canada, awarding funding to eight municipalities. These included the Town of Okotoks, Alta., the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., the Municipality of Lakeshore, Ont., Municipalité des Hautes-Terres, N.B., Municipalité de Chertsey, Que., the Village de Bois-Joli, N.B., the Communauté rurale de Kedgwick, N.B., and Ville régionale de Cap-Acadie, N.B.

All of these charger projects are either currently under construction or fully operational.

“We know that access to public charging infrastructure is a key deciding factor for consumers considering the purchase of an EV. We also know that there is a disparity between levels of infrastructure in larger, urban centres versus smaller, often rural communities,” says Valérie Mallamo, executive director of Earth Day Canada.

As part of the program, Earth Day Canada is offering to help municipalities work with utilities to install the infrastructure.

“Charged for Change hopes to level that playing field so that Canadians who want to make the climate-conscious decision to switch to an EV feel confident that it can meet their needs,” says Mallamo.

Program feedback

The Charged for Change program is receiving praise from participating municipalities. Many note the positive impact the new EV chargers have on their communities.

In East Ferris, Greg Kirton, director of community services, highlighted in a press statement how the program enabled the community to install its first public EV chargers and kickstart the municipality’s transition to an electric fleet with the purchase of its first EV in early 2024.

Thessalon’s deputy clerk, Lindsay MacFarlane, also shared how the chargers helped attract visitors to her community.

“Our first EV station users stopped in on their road trip from Whistler, British Columbia. They told us that they would have by-passed Thessalon if it weren’t for these charging stations,” says Thessalon.

“They stayed at [our] local accommodations and spent time exploring other amenities.”

Communities interested can start submitting applications through the Charged for Change webpage until Feb. 20, 2025.