Quebec-Kalamazoo | A first “electric corridor” between Canada and the United States

(Ottawa) Canada and the United States announce the establishment of a first road corridor where owners of electric vehicles are guaranteed access to charging stations every 80 kilometres.

This 1,400 kilometer “electric corridor” starts in Quebec City and goes all the way to the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. From Quebec, the corridor passes through highways 40 and 20 (Montreal), takes highway 401 (Toronto and Windsor) to then join highway I-94, in Michigan through the tunnel in Detroit, before ending in Kalamazoo .

The idea of ​​establishing such corridors between Canada and the United States was announced during the official visit to Ottawa by American President Joe Biden in March. Ottawa and Washington want to accelerate the energy transition by offering facilities including charging stations that will encourage more motorists to opt for a zero-emission vehicle. These installations include at least one fast charging station.

Other corridors linking the two countries will also be announced in the coming months, said Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in an interview with The Press.

The minister also went to Detroit at the end of the day on Tuesday to confirm the first corridor in the company of the American Secretary of Transport, Peter Buttigieg.

“This first corridor is already fully functional. The charging stations are installed at a maximum distance of 80 kilometers from each other. In some cases it is around 50 kilometers. We can therefore leave Quebec City now and go to Kalamazoo without worrying about whether or not there are charging stations,” said the Minister.

Last fall, the Trudeau government announced that at least 20% of all cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks sold in Canada by 2026 will have to be electric. By 2030, the obligation will be raised to 60% of all vehicles sold. In 2035, all vehicles put on sale will have to be electric.

These measures are an important part of the Trudeau government’s plan to achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels in all sectors by 2030. tourism account for half of all road transportation emissions and about one-tenth of Canada’s total emissions from all sectors.

At least three other corridors shortly

According to Minister Omar Alghabra, the achievement of these objectives will be facilitated by ensuring that there are charging stations in the major road corridors between Canada and the United States.

“The Quebec City-Windsor corridor is already the busiest in the country. It’s already wonderful that we can offer guarantees to drivers of zero-emission vehicles that they won’t have to worry about finding charging stations along their route. But we have to go further by having corridors with the United States. You have to have that connectivity with our American neighbors,” he noted.

The Québec-Windsor corridor is also a “hub” for the construction of zero-emission vehicles. This corridor also connects major cities in the east of the country and integrates ports, airports, railways and highways – essential cogs in Canada’s national transportation system.

The Minister did not want to say what could be the next corridor to be announced. “I don’t want to spill the beans now. Because one corridor could be ready before another. At a minimum, we’re going to have three such corridors. This must include the various regions of the country,” he said.

The Minister of Transport said he was encouraged by the latest statistics which show that zero-emission vehicles currently represent approximately 9% of sales across the country.

“We see that there is a growing consumer appetite for electric vehicles,” he said, noting that more than 200,000 Canadians have been able to obtain the $5,000 subsidy offered by Ottawa. for the purchase of a zero-emission vehicle.

Quebec also offers a financial incentive of $7,000. In this regard, Minister Omar Alghabra would like Ontario to reintroduce the subsidy that was offered to consumers for the purchase of these vehicles.