Manitoba EV fans charged up by federal strategy

Electric vehicle enthusiasts in Manitoba say they hope the national automotive strategy announced Thursday will speed up the expansion of EV charging stations across the province.

“It’s a great beginning,” said James Hart, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Manitoba.

The federal government said it plans to invest billions in auto manufacturing and technologies and EV rebates. It has set aside $1.5 billion for EV charging stations and infrastructure.

Hart, who lives in Winnipeg, said more charging stations are needed so more drivers switch to electric vehicles, especially in northern and rural Manitoba.

Last year, the province announced $500,000 to install 51 EV chargers — 39 of which would be charging stations across the province and 12 at three multi-unit residential developments. A government spokesman said Thursday that 14 are operational in Morden, Grand Rapids and the rural municipalities of Hanover and Ritchot. The remaining 37 chargers are expected to be up and running by March 31.

In October, Manitoba Hydro announced a plan to install six fast-charging stations on Highway 6 — the main north-south corridor — from Lundar to Thompson, by 2027. The new level-three chargers — which can fill an electric vehicle battery in 20 to 30 minutes — will bring the total number of charging stations across the province to nearly 300.

Hart said that plan needs to be expedited and expanded.

“It’s still not enough to fully cover all the communities up north.”

Having more rapid-charging stations 150 kilometres apart is “a nice little window” for motorists to feel confident they can charge up, he said.

“You always have in some camps where it’s, ‘No, I’m driving 800 kilometres, I’m not stopping. I need a vehicle that can do that.’ That’s a slim majority now,” Hart said.

“Hopefully with this, it will bring that coverage that’s needed,” he said about the federal spending announcement Thursday.

“Anything that the federal government can do to help us along our path to net zero is always welcome,” said Manitoba’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes.

The provincial government plans to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, it announced a $25-million electric vehicle rebate program that expires at the end of March.

More than 5,000 rebates have been issued, said Moyes, who drives a plug-in hybrid.

Meanwhile, long waits for Manitoba Hydro to connect EV charging stations to the power grid have delayed the network from growing, said Hart.

“There’s lots of companies that I’ve heard from that would love to install more chargers,” Hart said. “When you’ve got a company that’s willing to put in that $100,000-or-more charger, you have to wait three-plus months to get it actually hooked up where you could possibly start recouping your investment.”

Hart said the national automotive strategy to invest in EV factories in Canada could be a “windfall” for Manitoba.

“What I would like to see from the province is expediting our building out of infrastructure,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of mining opportunities and natural resources here that go into the production of battery manufacturing where we could be a great source for this. It could be a great windfall for the province,” said Hart.

Moyes said he met online with his provincial and federal counterparts earlier this week to talk about energy and critical minerals.

“We’re looking for more opportunities for Manitobans and critical minerals… We know that Manitoba has what the world needs.”

Winnipeg MP Raquel Dancho, who is the industry critic for the Tory party, issued a statement Thursday that criticizes the Liberal government’s automotive strategy.

She didn’t respond to a request for comment about the government decision to earmark $1.5 billion to expand EV charging stations and infrastructure, and its impact on Manitoba.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca