EV Chargers coming to Alberta

(CNW) The Government of Canada is making it easier to drive electric and transforming the way Canadians get to where they need to go.

Today, as part of #EVWeekinCanada, the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister and Special Representative for the Prairies, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, announced $310,000 in funding to install 44 electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Calgary and Edmonton to put Albertans in the driver's seat on the road to a net-zero future.

Calgary will install 20 EV chargers at major light rail transit stations and recreation centres throughout the city, which together with ENMAX Utilities is contributing over $125,000 to bring the total funding for the project to over $225,000.

In Edmonton, EPCOR Utilities Inc. will install 24 new chargers at 13 sites — all of them close to busy recreational facilities — with an additional contribution of $330,000, putting the total funding for this project to over $540,000.

TO locate charging stations across the province please see: https://www.nrcan. gc.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/electric-charging-alternative-fuelling-stationslocator-map/20487#/find/nearest

Federal funding for both projects, which will be available for public use December 31, is provided by Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

Since 2015, Canada has made a historic investment of over $1 billion so far to make EVs more affordable and charging infrastructure more locally accessible. These investments are building a coast-to-coast network of fast chargers and installing chargers in local areas where Canadians live, work and play.

The government also provides incentives of up to $5,000 to help Canadians buy EVs and full tax write-offs for businesses purchasing them.

These investments support Canada's new mandatory target of 100-percent zero-emission light-duty vehicle sales by 2035. Driving down transportation emissions is critical to achieving Canada's ambitious climate change targets and requires a combination of investments and regulations to support Canadians and industry in this transition.

The government supports green infrastructure projects that create good, middleclass jobs and get us to net-zero emissions by 2050.