More and more Canadians are opting for zero-emission vehicles and one of the ways to encourage these purchases is knowing that you will be able to charge your car on the road, especially for long distances. Given the number of Canadians and Americans crossing the border every day, people need to be sure they can get from point A to point B with their zero-emission vehicle. This certainty will help drive the adoption of more zero-emission vehicles, which will create good middle-class jobs, grow our economies, and reduce pollution on our roads.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra and Pete Buttigieg, United States Secretary of Transportation, announced the first Canada and United States Alternative Fuel Corridor.
The corridor meets the following requirements:
- Electric vehicle charging infrastructure would be installed every 80 km (50 miles); and
- Include at least one Direct Current (DC) fast chargers with Combined Charging System (CCS) ports.
The corridor runs from Kalamazoo, in Michigan, to Québec City, Québec. It passes along:
- I-94 highway, through the tunnel in Detroit to the Canadian side of the border;
- Highway 401, through Toronto;
- Highway 20 in Montréal; and,
- Highway 40 through Québec City.
Defining a binational Alternative Fuel Corridor will guarantee that Canadian and U.S. drivers will be able to travel across the border and charge their vehicles.
This corridor represents one of the busiest passenger and trade corridors between our two countries. It is also a hub for vehicle manufacturing and a key component of Canada's national transportation system, connecting major cities, ports, airports, railways, and highways. Canada will continue to increase capacity along this corridor and will work to enable future alternative fuel corridors as well.
Promoting growth in the automotive sector of the future and supporting the shift to a net-zero economy will have significant benefits for Canadian workers and the Canadian economy.
