infrastructure
Canada Public EV Chargers Q1 2026: 39,220 Ports Across 10,693 Sites
Transport Canada dashboard shows 39,220 public EV chargers in Canada as of March 31, 2026 — 30,741 Level 2 and 8,479 Level 3. Which provinces are building the most, and where are the charging gaps in 2026?
Canada’s public charging fleet crossed 39,000 ports in Q1 2026. Transport Canada’s EV dashboard (updated August 2026, data to March 31, 2026) reports 39,220 public chargers on the ground — 30,741 Level 2 and 8,479 Level 3 — with 10,693 sites across the country. That is an increase from 38,364 at the end of 2025 and 32,298 in 2024.
National picture
- Cumulative growth: 2,509 chargers in 2017 → 39,220 in March 2026
- Fleet mix: Level 2 dominates at 78% of ports; Level 3 is 22% and growing faster
- Vehicles in operation: 758,853 light-duty BEVs + 318,604 PHEVs = ~1.08 million EVs on Canadian roads as of April 1, 2026. That puts the ratio at roughly 27 EVs per public charger nationally.
Provincial leaders
Transport Canada lists public chargers selected for funding or financing — a forward-looking proxy for where deployment is accelerating.
- Quebec: 13,081 public chargers, 473,385 EVs — 36 EVs per charger
- Ontario: 13,392 public chargers, 277,219 EVs — 21 EVs per charger
- Alberta: 2,124 public chargers, 42,041 EVs — 20 EVs per charger
- British Columbia: data from the EV dashboard shows rapid growth with 1,600+ new stations announced in federal funding rounds
Funding pipeline as of Q1 2026: 59,320 EV chargers have been selected for funding or financing across Canada — 37,926 already open, 21,304 planned.
What’s new in Q1 2026
Federal ministers announced 1,600 new chargers in the 2026 EV & Charging Expo round, bringing additional Plug’n Drive support for multi-unit dwelling installations. The trend is a shift from highway corridors to community and workplace charging, plus cold-weather-ready Level 3 installations in northern provinces.
Why the numbers matter
Charging availability remains the biggest friction point for first-time EV buyers. Provinces with higher charger-to-EV ratios (Alberta, Ontario) see faster adoption. Quebec’s 36:1 ratio looks worse on paper, but the province benefits from the North American Electric Vehicle (NAEV) corridor and home-charging culture.
If you want the exact province-by-province table and funding status, the Transport Canada dashboard is updated quarterly: Transport Canada EV Dashboard.
Source: Transport Canada Canada’s Electric Vehicle Dashboard, updated August 2026, data to March 31, 2026.
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