Canadians want a cleaner transportation system as part of Canada's transition to a greener future. The Government of Canada is taking additional action to accelerate the integration of zero-emission technologies in the trucking industry, addressing climate change while simultaneously building an economy that works for everyone.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, announced an investment of nearly $3 million under the Zero-Emission Trucking Program to support of three projects in Québec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
Of this investment, $1.5 million will be used to establish a Zero-Emission Trucking Testbed in the Montréal area. The Testbed, launched in collaboration with FPInnovations, will collect real-world performance data in Canadian conditions to speed up the reduction of pollution from medium- and heavy-duty on-road transportation.
Two additional investments, totalling just over $1.3 million in Government of Canada support, will enable projects in British Columbia and Nova Scotia to gain information on: zero emission truck performance, the development of training materials, and required provincial planning to support the safe deployment of zero emission trucking technologies. The British Columbia project will support commercial vehicle pilots, training, and knowledge-sharing activities to communicate their findings to a wide audience of stakeholders. The Nova Scotia project will study the province's technical needs, including the types and number of vehicles and refueling/recharging stations required, and will develop guidelines to inform the adoption of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles.
In addition, a new call for proposals under the Zero-Emission Trucking Program is currently open until October 3, 2023. Eligible projects can receive up to $1 million to advance efforts towards zero-emission trucking.
The Government of Canada has set an ambitious target of 100 per cent for new medium-and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2040, where feasible. Through these projects, the government is taking direct action to support industry, provinces and territories to deploy and gain firsthand experience with medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles.
