Consistent and clear policy signals to investors will be the key to advancing Canada’s EV future, says the Canadian Charging Infrastructure Council

On November 4, the federal government will table Budget 2025 and close its consultation on Canada’s EV Availability Standard (EVAS). These two events will shape the country’s electric mobility future for years to come and signal to charging investors and businesses whether Canada will continue to lead or start falling behind.

For the EV charging sector, policy certainty and consistency create the conditions for private capital to invest. When governments send clear, long-term signals—as they have in the past— the private sector responds by deploying infrastructure, investing in R&D, and creating sustainable, well-paying jobs across Canada. But when policy signals are mixed or short-lived, investments stall and progress slows.

Look, for example, at the first and second quarters of 2025: Year-over-year EV sales growth dipped. This was, in part, due to a pause of the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) and a commitment to the rebate, with no clear timeline to do so.

To maintain EV momentum, Canada needs clear, coordinated policy signals that unlock private investment and the confidence that the EV transition is real and moving forward.  

Short-term funding to bridge the gaps

Private capital can drive much of Canada’s charging infrastructure buildout today, but not all of it or at once. There are underserved areas, including in rural, remote and even some segments of urban communities, and multi-family buildings, where government funding still matters as a bridge to filling gaps and ensuring fairness and full participation in the EV transition.

The priority for policymakers should be to target public dollars where market forces cannot yet deliver, while setting a clear path to phase-down funding over time as private investments scale up.

Keeping the federal government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) funding program for charging infrastructure steady for the next three to five years and focusing on underserved areas will be essential. Ending or pausing funding too soon risk leaving charging access gaps or creating market distortions.

According to the Canadian Charging Infrastructure Council (CCIC) president and CEO, Travis Allan, “charging investors behave much like consumers in response to rebate uncertainty. When funding is paused and its return is unpredictable, businesses delay investment decisions in the hope of lower costs in the future.”

Equally important is transparency and clear communication from governments as well.

“The sector does not need subsidies in perpetuity or for all charging use cases, but it does need clarity: how much funding is available, what use cases will be funded, when funding will be available and when it will be phased out. This transparency allows investors to plan and deploy capital most efficiently,” adds Allan.

Regulatory certainty drives long-term sustainability

While short-term funding is the bridge, the foundation for long-term financial sustainability is regulatory certainty.

Private capital moves when it sees strong, stable market growth. Maintaining the EVAS will ensure more vehicles on the road and create stronger business cases for charging infrastructure investments.

Canada’s public fast charging sector has already invested over $1 billion in charging infrastructure and is poised to continue.  With existing EVAS targets, the sector is on track to deliver 20,000 public fast charging ports by 2030.  Significantly weakening or delaying the EVAS would put investments and Canadian jobs at risk.

A recent study by the CCIC found that if the current 2030 EVAS target of 60 per cent is reduced to 40 per cent, Canada would see 38 per cent fewer fast charging ports installed than under the current policy. Drop the target down to 30 per cent, and it’s a 62 per cent cut in chargers installed.

This reduction affects not only the deployment of chargers but also the demand for skilled trade workers required to site, plan, engineer, construct, install, and maintain each charging location—work that amounts to over 17 person-day jobs per public fast charger, according to a 2024 International Council on Clean Transportation study.

Another pillar to ensure market confidence is to keep the Clean Fuel Regulations (CRF) strong and predictable.

Canada’s CFR has driven about $75 million in EV charging credit value to date that have or will support electrification and charging deployments across Canada.

The CFR works because it is a market-based solution that creates credit value that rewards low-carbon fuels, such as electricity.  As an investment signal, the CFR credits give the private sector confidence to invest and bolsters the business case for EV charging infrastructure. Extending the policy signal to 2040 and maintaining the role of residential EV charging credits, will keep that momentum going long-term.

Clear message

As November 4 approaches, the message to policymakers is simple: if Canada wants to lead in electric mobility and attract private capital investments to expand charging infrastructure, government leadership needs to keep policies ambitious and consistent.

In the short-term, this means committing to government funding mechanisms like ZEVIP to close charging gaps in underserved areas and introducing an investment tax credit for EV charging to provide a more predictable funding tool for investors. It also means reaffirming the government’s commitment to the longer-term investment signals driven by the EVAS and CFR, which are needed to crowd in private capital.

What the private sector will be looking for on November 4 is not only funding but also the policy direction that Canada’s leadership is committed to its EV future.

This opinion piece is written by the Canadian Charging Infrastructure Council, an industry group comprising Canada’s leading charging ecosystem organizations.