Commonwealth_ Canada‘s ambitious goals for adopting electric vehicles are at risk: a desperate lack of public charging stations. Even while electric vehicle sales rise modestly, the country is far behind where it needs to be on infrastructure. A study by Montreal-based consulting firm Dunsky Energy and Climate estimates that the number of operational public charging stations is already lagging growing demand.
As of 2025, there are just more than 35,000 publicly installed EV charging points in Canada. It’s much lower than the more than 100,000 charging points experts projected would be installed by now if national EV adoption targets were to be achieved. The country’s drive towards cleaner transport and its overall climate ambition faces significant obstacles due to insufficient charging infrastructure.
British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec are home to the majority of Canada’s public charging stations. These same three provinces have been at the forefront of electric vehicle sales as well, with nearly 90 percent of new electric vehicles bought in 2024. The concentration of charging stations within these three provinces is both a reflection of the demand for infrastructure as well as the policy incentives found at the provincial level. But as imbalanced as the division is, it results in massive swaths of the country receiving subpar service and perhaps not being ready for the EV frenzy. The infrastructure shortfall disproportionately affects Canadians who are disadvantaged and lack access to home charging.
There are a massive number of city dwellers in apartment buildings or street parking, so private charging systems aren’t feasible. To such citizens, public charging stations are not a luxury but a requirement. If charging stations are not reliable and their provision is not ubiquitous, then the shift to electric vehicles is much more unlikely, even among capable and willing consumers. Aside from the issue of availability, a lack of charging stations also creates an issue known as “range anxiety” – that a vehicle is not adequately powered in its battery to reach its destination or the next available charging station.
This issue is one of the most frequently cited purchasing barriers to potential EV buyers in Canada. Consumers will continue to delay or avoid purchasing an electric vehicle until the public charging network extends to provide sufficient coverage in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It is not only a question of quantity but also of type and pace.
Fleet use and cross-country driving require quick charging, which can fully charge a car in less than an hour. Most public charging stations in Canada currently operate on slower Level 2 chargers, which take hours to fully charge a battery. To support long-distance travel and fleet use, the country needs to see extensive expansion of high-speed charging networks. All levels of government will need to invest and work together to bridge the infrastructure gap. Federal subsidization schemes financed new installations in recent years but lagged behind implementation across much of the country. Municipal governments also frequently have budget and technical limitations that bar straightforward installation of chargers in convenient public locations.
The private sector could also have a role to play. Retailers, property developers, and fleets can make a contribution by having chargers fitted at car parks, shopping malls, and business parks. But these initiatives aren’t going to achieve scale without public incentives and clear policy guidance.
With Canada insisting on electric vehicle use as one of its most aggressive attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the absence of publicly available charging stations cheapens the endeavor. It will require an aggressive, multi-year campaign on the part of private and public sector stakeholders to make EVs a routine choice for Canadians, not merely individuals living in a few select urban centers who possess driveways and garages.
