How many EVs are really on Canadian roads? A regional breakdown
When the alleged electric vehicle takeover is mentioned, many Canadian consumers, and collision industry members alike, are quick to point out the lack of infrastructure across the nation.
In the inaugural edition of our EV Repair magazine, we delved into the data to understand how much of the Canadian vehicle parc is consumed by zero-emissions (or hybrid/plug-in hybrid) vehicles. That was less than six months ago—and the numbers have already changed. Some may say Canada is on a rapid fast track to EV adoption, depending on your region of focus. On any typical day driving through Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, you’ll surely count a fleet of Teslas. British Columbia leads North America in terms of electric vehicle adoption; Quebec is a close second.
Our reporters looked at Statistics Canada’s vehicle registration numbers to gather an estimate of how many EVs and public EV charging stations are currently in Canada.
Electric vehicle data is sourced from Statistics Canada’s visual data tool on new motor vehicle registrations (2017-2022) unless otherwise noted. Public charging station data is from Natural Resources Canada Electric Charging and Alternative Fuelling Stations Locator, unless otherwise noted. Charging station numbers refer to the number of public charging stations, not necessarily the number of charging ports available at each station.
