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Telemiq Rewrites Its Rewards Math: Five Annual Tiers Take Over October 1 — and Home Charging Could Pay Up to 21.75 pts/kWh

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Update, September 20, 2026: Starting October 1, 2026, Telemiq Rewards is switching from its flat pay-per-kilowatt-hour model to a five-tier annual volume system that lifts the rate for every verified home kilowatt-hour as a driver's calendar-year total climbs. At the top of the new schedule — a high-mileage driver charging more than 18,000 kWh a year with a full referral network behind them — the effective rate reaches 21.75 points per kWh, or roughly $0.22 per kWh at the program's 100 points = $1.00 (C$) conversion.

Telemiq pays Canadian EV drivers for verified home charging, funded by Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations carbon-credit aggregation. Until now, every member has earned a flat 5 points per kWh. Here is exactly how the new schedule works, with the numbers — Telemiq's own launch card below, followed by our full breakdown.

What's changing

From October 1, the flat rate is replaced by a marginal bracket system — structured much like income tax brackets — that applies progressively higher rates as annual volume grows:

Tier	Calendar-year volume	Base rate
🌱 T1 · Starter	0 – 3,000 kWh	5.0 pts/kWh
🚗 T2 · Commuter	3,000 – 6,000 kWh	7.0 pts/kWh
⚡ T3 · Voyageur	6,000 – 12,000 kWh	9.5 pts/kWh
🚚 T4 · Fleet	12,000 – 18,000 kWh	12.0 pts/kWh
🏆 T5 · Mega Fleet	18,000+ kWh	14.5 pts/kWh

There is no hard cap on annual earnings. The 21.75 pts/kWh figure is the natural ceiling — the Mega Fleet base rate multiplied by the program's maximum referral multiplier (more on that below).

How the brackets actually work

The most common misreading of a tier system is assuming the rate jumps for all of your charging once you cross a threshold. Telemiq's engine doesn't work that way. Each bracket's rate applies only to the kilowatt-hours inside that bracket, and the brackets stack:

Take a driver who charges 8,000 kWh in the 2026 calendar year:

First 3,000 kWh at 5.0 pts → 15,000 pts
Next 3,000 kWh at 7.0 pts → 21,000 pts
Final 2,000 kWh at 9.5 pts → 19,000 pts
Total: 55,000 points — $550 at the base multiplier

That blended outcome works out to an effective rate of about 6.9 pts/kWh — well above today's flat 5, without needing to reach the top tier to benefit.

$10 per qualified referral — plus a multiplier that stacks on everything

The second half of the announcement is an upgraded referral program with two separate payouts that work together.

First, the cash: $10 (1,000 points) per qualified referral, each side. Every time a driver joins with your link and qualifies — meaning they reach 200 kWh of cumulative verified home charging on Telemiq — you receive $10 and they receive $10. Five qualified referrals is $50 in bonuses; fifteen is $150. A signup alone doesn't pay out: the referred driver has to actually charge, which keeps the program paying for real EV drivers, not abandoned signups.

Second, the multiplier: every qualified referral within the calendar year also moves the member up a multiplier band that applies to their entire tier rate — not just the newest kilowatts:

Band	Qualified referrals	Multiplier
⭐ Member	0	×1.00
🗣️ Advocate	1–2	×1.05
🥉 Bronze	3–5	×1.15
🥈 Silver	6–9	×1.25
🥇 Gold	10–14	×1.35
👑 Platinum VIP	15+	×1.50

Read across any row of that matrix: the same annual volume pays more as the referral network grows. A Voyageur-tier driver (6,000–12,000 kWh) at Platinum VIP earns an effective 14.25 pts/kWh — a 50% raise on the identical driving, earned purely by bringing other drivers onto the platform.

What a year of charging pays

Combining the two systems produces the schedule Telemiq members will actually experience. The curves below show calendar-year cash value at four referral levels, against today's flat rate:

Some reference points from the schedule (charging value only — referral cash bonuses are on top):

A typical commuter (about 2,500 kWh/yr — roughly 15,000 km) stays in the Starter tier and earns near today's rate. The system is deliberately gentle at the bottom.
A heavy home-charging driver at 20,000 kWh/yr with no referrals earns $1,940 for the year — nearly double the $1,000 the same charging pays today.
That same 20,000 kWh driver at Platinum VIP earns $2,910 in charging rewards — plus the $150 in referral bonuses it took to reach the 15-referral VIP band ($10 × 15, each side credited). Charging plus bonuses: $3,060, versus $1,000 under the old flat rate — a 3× improvement, or an effective 14.55 pts/kWh on the year.

The cash value is real: points convert at 100 points = $1.00 (C$) and are paid out by Interac e-Transfer following the program's annual carbon-credit audit in Q1.

Nobody starts from zero

Two transition rules soften the October 1 switch:

Every kilowatt-hour charged before October 1 still counts. Pre-launch charging earns the current flat 5 pts/kWh, but the volume counts toward the member's calendar-year tier — a driver who has already logged 4,000 kWh this year enters October already inside the Commuter bracket.
The calendar resets itself. Tiers and referral tallies are measured on the calendar year (January 1 – December 31), and counters are derived from that window automatically — no manual reset, and every member starts each new year with their earned history intact while tier volume begins fresh.

Who qualifies

Rewards are currently exclusive to Tesla vehicles: sessions are verified automatically through Tesla's official Fleet API with geofenced home-location confirmation. No dongles, no receipts, no manual claims — charging is detected and credited as sessions complete. Telemiq's multi-brand expansion (Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Rivian, GM, VW) applies to its Fleet API — the developer telemetry platform — not the rewards program; there is no timeline yet for rewards on other manufacturers.

The fine print, in plain terms

Points, not promises: points accrue per completed, verified session; the award engine is idempotent, so a session can't be paid twice.
Multipliers need qualified referrals: a signup alone doesn't move the band — the referred driver has to charge before the referral qualifies and the multiplier rises.
$10 per qualified referral, both sides: the inviter gets $10 and the invitee gets $10 — explicitly both, not split — credited when the referred driver hits 200 kWh of cumulative verified home charging. And each qualified referral keeps working after the bonus: it lifts the multiplier band for the rest of the calendar year.
Payout follows the audit: earnings accrue all year; cash-out follows the Q1 carbon-credit audit cycle.

Should you change how you charge?

For most members, no — the strategy is the opposite of rationing. Because higher brackets pay more per kilowatt, the economics now favor consolidating charging at home rather than spreading it across public networks. The members who benefit most are the ones who were already charging heavily at home: two-car households, high-mileage commuters, and drivers in the 12,000+ kWh range.

And for members with a Tesla-driving group chat, the math argues for organizing it: five qualified referrals pay $50 each side in bonuses, immediately — and turn into a ×1.15 multiplier on every kilowatt for the rest of the year, a raise that recurs every calendar year the network stays active.

The program goes live October 1, 2026. Drivers can preview their projected tier, multiplier band, and annual earnings with the calculator now live at telemiq.io.

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Ford Cancels Pure-Electric F-150 Lightning, Will Build EREV Successor in Michigan

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:30:00 GMT

Ford is killing the all-electric F-150 Lightning as a standalone model and replacing it with an extended-range EV, or EREV, that pairs an electric motor with a gasoline engine — a move the company calls a customer-driven shift away from pure battery power for its most important truck.

CEO Jim Farley said the decision reflects a changed operating reality: "This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford. The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities."

What changes for the Lightning nameplate

The next-generation F-150 Lightning was scheduled to be built at a new plant in Tennessee around 2028. That plant will instead host an "affordable, gas-powered" truck by 2029 — a model Ford spokesperson told Automotive News the company does not currently offer.

The EREV successor to the Lightning will be built in Michigan. In an EREV, the wheels are always powered by an electric motor, but a gasoline engine tops off the battery when needed. Ford argues that configuration suits more customers than a pure EV, especially in rural and commercial use cases where charging infrastructure is sparse.

Why Canadian buyers should care

The F-150 is Canada's best-selling vehicle by a wide margin, and the Lightning was the electric version that gave fleet operators, farmers and tradespeople a zero-emission option without changing pickup habits. An EREV variant keeps the electric-drive experience while eliminating range anxiety — but it also means the vehicle still burns gasoline.

For buyers counting on a fully electric F-150, the cancellation tightens the timeline for an affordable, zero-emission full-size pickup in Canada. The Chevrolet Silverado EV and Ram 1500 REV are the closest pure-electric rivals, though both are priced well above the base Lightning's starting point.

Lightning EV cancelled as a standalone battery-electric model.
EREV successor confirmed for Michigan production.
New gas truck coming to Tennessee plant by 2029.
15th-gen F-150 expected for the 2028 model year.

The pivot is the clearest signal yet that Ford does not believe the Canadian and American pickup markets are ready for mass-market fully electric trucks. Extended range may bridge the gap, but it is not the zero-emission future some buyers were promised.

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Nissan Canada Considers Chinese-Built EV Imports, But Quota Uncertainty Looms

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:30:00 GMT

Nissan Canada is openly considering importing electric vehicles built in China for the first time, but regulatory uncertainty around Ottawa's tariff-break quota is keeping the company on the sidelines — for now.

The automaker confirmed it is evaluating whether vehicles from its Dongfeng Nissan joint venture could qualify for Canada's reduced-tariff EV quota, which allows 49,000 China-built electric vehicles to enter at 6.1 per cent instead of the standard 106.1 per cent. But Nissan's leadership is waiting for clearer rules before committing capital.

Why the hesitation?

Unlike Tesla, which already ships Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y to Canada under the same quota, Nissan would need to modify and certify Dongfeng Nissan products to meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. That process is expensive and time-consuming, and the payoff depends on whether Nissan can secure a guaranteed share of the quota.

Derek Boshouwers of Auto123 reported that Nissan is lobbying the Canadian government for a clearer attribution system that tells importers in advance how much of the quota they can rely on. Without that assurance, the financial risk of homologating a Chinese-built vehicle for Canada is hard to justify.

What's already in Canada

Tesla began importing Shanghai-built EVs in May 2026 and has become the single largest beneficiary of the China quota. Polestar and Lincoln are also bringing Chinese-made vehicles across the Pacific. Nissan, by contrast, has not yet announced a specific model or timeline for Chinese-built imports.

EVs account for roughly nine per cent of Nissan's sales in Canada, and the company is trying to grow that share. A new entry-level LEAF S is expected to help broaden the lineup. But the mass-market strategy still relies on internal-combustion models like the Rogue and Qashqai for volume.

49,000 total China-made EV import slots under the current agreement.
~9% of Nissan's Canadian sales are currently electric.
Uncertain quota allocation is the main barrier to Dongfeng Nissan imports.

If Ottawa provides Nissan — and other potential Chinese-built importers — with quota assurances, Canadian showrooms could see all-new Nissan-badged EVs sourced from China within the next two years. Until then, the door is open but the path is unclear.

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91% of EV Drivers Will Go Out of Their Way for a Recommended Charger, Study Finds

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:10:00 GMT

When EV drivers pick a charging station, they are asking each other before they ask their GPS. New research from Driivz finds that 91 percent of EV drivers are willing to go out of their way for a charger another driver recommended, and 76 percent would avoid an entire charging network based on a single warning from friends or family.

The survey of more than 3,000 drivers across North America and Europe reveals a social layer influencing charging decisions that operators have traditionally ignored. Specialist charging apps and peer recommendations now rank ahead of satellite navigation as trusted sources for unfamiliar charging locations.

What the numbers mean for Canadian drivers

Word of mouth beats turn-by-turn: More than half of respondents said they would travel more than five minutes out of their way for a recommended location. In rural Canada, where chargers are sparse, that trust is a decisive advantage.
One bad session can poison a network: Seventy-six percent of drivers would skip an entire brand after a poor experience, and 79 percent would warn friends or family afterward. Operators that cannot maintain uptime risk losing customers permanently, not just temporarily.
Drivers are active reporters: Seventy-six percent would report issues through a charging app, and 65 percent would leave an online review. The feedback loop is fast and public.
Reliability drives profitability: Driivz's own 2026 State of EV Charging Network Operators Report found 59 percent of operators now identify charger utilization as their primary driver of profitability — not energy margins or subscription fees.

Why this matters for Canada's charging build-out

Canada is spending heavily on public charging infrastructure through federal and provincial programs, but the Driivz data suggests hardware alone is not enough. A charger that is physically present but unreliable — offline when needed, slow to authenticate, or expensive relative to advertised rates — can damage the reputation of the entire network that hosts it.

For drivers, the takeaway is practical: check recent user reviews in your charging app before committing to an unfamiliar station, especially on long trips. For operators, the message is that 24/7 availability and seamless authentication are now table stakes, not differentiators. The networks that win will be the ones drivers trust enough to recommend.

What to watch next

As Canada's EV fleet grows, charging behavior will shift from a niche activity to a routine utility expectation. Providers that invest in reliability and customer service now will build the brand loyalty that the Driivz data shows drivers reward with repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Compare your home charging costs against public rates in our province-by-province charging cost calculator.

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Canada's New Vehicle Sales Rose 5.4% in August, But the Year-to-Date Picture Is Mixed

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:05:00 GMT

Canada's new light vehicle market notched its third consecutive month of year-over-year gains in August, but the broader recovery is far from uniform across the country.

DesRosiers Automotive Services reported 168,000 new light vehicles sold nationwide last month, a 5.4-percent increase over August 2025. Nine of ten provinces recorded higher volumes than a year earlier, led by Ontario at +7.1 percent and Quebec at +4.1 percent. Manitoba posted the largest jump at 18.9 percent, while Alberta was the only province to retreat, falling 5.6 percent. Prince Edward Island dropped 11.9 percent.

What the provincial split tells us

Ontario and Quebec remain the engine room: Together they account for the majority of national volume, so their gains set the tone for the overall recovery.
Manitoba's surge is notable but from a small base: A single strong month does not rewrite a weak trend, but it does suggest pent-up demand in central Canada.
Alberta and PEI are laggards: Alberta's decline continues a pattern tied to energy-sector uncertainty and softer consumer confidence in the west.
Only two provinces are positive year-to-date: Nova Scotia and Quebec are the only markets in the black for the full 2026 period so far.

Why this matters for EV buyers

The overall new vehicle market matters for EV adoption because dealership profitability, inventory levels, and manufacturer allocation all flow from total volume. When the broader market is soft, EVs — still a modest share of sales — face the most pressure from incentive cuts and showroom closures.

For buyers, the August data has two practical signals. First, stronger overall volume usually means wider model availability and less need to order sight-unseen. Second, the persistent year-to-date decline of 1.2 percent — with the national total sitting at 1.29 million units through August — means manufacturers and dealers will likely keep promotional pressure on through the fall to hit annual targets.

Buyers comparing total cost of ownership can model their own numbers in our province-by-province charging cost calculator.

What to watch next

DesRosiers publishes monthly figures, so the September report will show whether the August momentum holds through the seasonal transition. Buyers should also track Transport Canada's monthly registration data for ZEV share, which continues to trend above 10% in most provinces.

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Gas, Hybrid, or EV: Which Vehicle Costs Less in Canada Over 5 Years?

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:40:00 GMT

Gasoline vehicles remain the cheapest option upfront in three of four Canadian vehicle segments, according to a new Rates.ca ownership-cost analysis. But the same report finds that electric vehicles narrow the gap significantly over a five-year ownership window, flipping from cost disadvantage to advantage in at least one luxury segment and nearly matching gas in compact sedans.

The study compared total cost of ownership — including purchase price, taxes, rebates, insurance, licensing, maintenance, and fuel or charging costs — across compact sedans, luxury sedans, midsize SUVs, and passenger trucks. The analysis assumed 20,000 kilometres of annual driving and used Ontario electricity rates to calculate EV charging costs, which came in at 14 to 18 percent of comparable gasoline fuel costs in every segment.

The five-year verdict by segment

Compact sedan: Gas wins years one through four; hybrid Honda Civic Sport HEV wins year five at $63,158 versus $64,193 for the Kia EV4 Light.
Luxury sedan: Gas BMW 530i xDrive wins year one; BMW i5 xDrive40 EV wins by year four at $122,632 versus $124,312 for the gas model, and is $133,875 versus $129,630 for the PHEV 550e.
Midsize SUV: Gas Kia Sorento AWD LX wins across all five years, staying ahead of the EV9 AWD and Sorento hybrid.
Passenger truck: Ford F-150 Lightning 4WD is the only EV that is cheapest from year one, widening its lead to 23 percent over gas and 30 percent over hybrid by year five.

Why fuel savings alone do not guarantee a cheaper EV

Low electricity rates make EV fuel costs a fraction of gasoline, but higher purchase prices, insurance premiums, and maintenance assumptions mean the savings take years to compound. In the SUV segment, the Kia EV9's much higher upfront cost keeps it behind the gas-powered Sorento for the full five-year window despite far lower charging bills. Even with government rebates, only two of the twelve vehicles analysed qualified for incentive programs: the Kia EV4 ($5,000) and the Kia Sorento Hybrid ($2,500). The Ford F-150 Lightning did not qualify because its price exceeds the federal EVAP cap.

What this means for Canadian buyers

Rates.ca notes that fuel prices alone rarely change purchasing behaviour until household fuel spend reaches roughly 2.5 to 3 percent of income and elevated prices persist for six to twelve months. For most shoppers walking onto a dealer lot today, the sticker-price difference still dominates the conversation. The report suggests that EVs become more competitive the longer a buyer plans to keep the vehicle — so anyone trading out of a five-year lease may never see the full payback, while a long-term owner can let lower charging costs do the work.

If you are shopping in the truck segment, the data is clear: the Ford F-150 Lightning is the only EV in the study that posts the lowest all-in cost from day one. For sedan and SUV buyers, the math still tilts toward gasoline or hybrid unless you are committed to keeping the vehicle long enough for the charging savings to outrun the premium.

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Mini Countryman Elementary Edition Squeezes Under Canada's EVAP $50,000 Limit

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:35:00 GMT

Mini Canada has added a new entry-level trim to its 2027 Countryman Electric line-up that qualifies for the federal Electric Vehicle Affordability Program rebate — by barely. The Countryman Electric SE ALL4 Elementary Edition starts at $49,990, which is $10 below the EVAP transaction-price threshold of $50,000. That makes the vehicle eligible for the full $5,000 federal rebate, plus any provincial incentives that apply.

The regular Countryman Electric Premier and Premier+ trims start at $59,990 and can climb past $65,000 with options, which puts them above the EVAP cap and outside the rebate window. Mini's solution is to strip out enough content to hit the price target while keeping the core mechanical hardware — the motor, battery, and all-wheel-drive system — unchanged.

What you still get for $49,990

Power: 308 hp and 364 lb-ft of torque
Battery: 65.3 kWh usable capacity
Range: 348 kilometres (Canadian guide)
Drivetrain: All-wheel drive standard
Standard equipment: Panoptic glass roof, adaptive LED headlights, collision-avoidance tech, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic parking assist, heated seats, heated steering wheel
Exterior options: Four colours — British Racing Green, Midnight Black, Nanuq White, and Melting Silver

What the Elementary Edition cuts

To hit the $49,990 target, Mini removed several comfort and convenience features. Power-adjusted front seats become manual-only, and the wireless charging pad is gone entirely. Hands-free door unlocking, the Harman Kardon audio system, and the head-up display are all unavailable. The sport seats and several option packages found on the Premier trims do not transfer to the Elementary Edition.

Mini also excluded the charging cable from the base price. Buyers who want the cable and adapters must pay an extra $500 — a detail the company was able to include because EVAP excludes charging-equipment costs from the $50,000 transaction-price calculation. That means the effective out-the-door price for most buyers will be slightly higher than the advertised $49,990 once freight, delivery, and taxes are added.

Is it worth it?

For buyers who want a Mini Countryman Electric and plan to claim the rebate, the Elementary Edition is the only path into the program. The $10,000 to $15,000 price reduction versus the Premier trims is substantial, and the omitted features are mostly convenience items rather than core hardware. With the federal rebate dropping to $4,000 for 2027 models, the Elementary Edition will likely remain the volume seller — and it may account for nearly all Countryman Electric registrations in Canada next year.

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R.R. Plett Trucking Installs Canada's First Tesla MCS Chargers in B.C.

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:30:00 GMT

British Columbia trucking fleet R.R. Plett is building what it says will be Canada's first public-facing Tesla Megawatt Charging System (MCS) chargers, with installations planned for Langley and Kamloops. The 1.2 MW stations are designed to recharge a Tesla Semi in about 30 minutes — roughly one-sixth of the time a typical Level 2 or standard DC fast-charge session would require for a Class 8 battery.

The project is part of a broader plan to electrify the Vancouver-to-Calgary freight corridor. R.R. Plett has ordered 12 Tesla Semi trucks and expects them to arrive by mid-2027. The company did not disclose the total capital cost of the charging build-out, but it noted that BC Hydro is heavily involved in upgrading the local electrical capacity to support megawatt-scale loads.

Why MCS matters for Canadian fleets

Most Canadian public charging today tops out at 350 kW — fast enough for passenger EVs, but slow for a Class 8 truck with a 1,000-plus kWh battery. Tesla's MCS standard raises that ceiling to 1.2 MW and beyond, which means a driver on a tight HOS schedule can charge during a mandated break instead of staying plugged in for hours. For long-haul operations, that time saving is the difference between electrification being viable or not.

The Langley and Kamloops sites were chosen because they sit on the Trans-Canada Highway corridor, where charging gaps currently force diesel backup. R.R. Plett said it will open the chargers to other fleets once its own Semi fleet is running, which could accelerate adoption beyond its own trucks.

What the numbers look like

Charger output: 1.2 MW per MCS post
Installation sites: Langley and Kamloops, B.C.
Target fleet: 12 Tesla Semi trucks
Expected in-service date: June 2027
Corridor goal: Vancouver to Calgary electric freight route

The longer route ahead

Canada currently has no publicly available MCS stations, and the charging standard is still awaiting Transport Canada regulatory alignment. R.R. Plett's project is the clearest sign yet that fleet operators are willing to front the infrastructure cost — provided the electrical and permitting pieces cooperate. BC Hydro's involvement suggests the utility sees heavy-duty electrification as a load-growth opportunity, not just a policy obligation.

If the Langley and Kamloops chargers come online on schedule, they will become reference sites for other fleets watching from Ontario and Quebec. The question is whether Tesla will accelerate MCS expansion in Canada to match the demand, or whether individual operators will continue to build the network one corridor at a time.

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Tesla raises Wall Connector prices again in Canada, Universal model nears $1,000

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:40:00 GMT

Tesla has raised the price of its home charging equipment in Canada once more, extending a string of increases that have made the Wall Connector significantly more expensive over the past three months. The standard Wall Connector is now listed at $815, while the Universal Wall Connector — which includes an integrated J1772 adapter — sits at $945, just $55 short of the $1,000 mark. ## How fast prices have climbed The July price increase put the standard Wall Connector at $760, up from $630 in early June. The September update adds another $55 to the standard model and raises the Universal Wall Connector from $875 to $945. In just over three months, the standard connector has gone from $630 to $815, an increase of more than 29 per cent. Compared with the lowest price Tesla has charged in Canada — $465 — Canadians are now paying roughly $350 more, or about 75 per cent more, for the same hardware. ## Standard vs Universal The standard Wall Connector charges NACS-equipped vehicles. The Universal model adds a built-in J1772 adapter, so it can charge any EV on a North American driveway without a separate dongle. The $130 gap between the two models is wider than it was in July, when the Universal was only $25 more expensive than the standard. In the U.S., the standard Wall Connector rose from $535 to $585 and the Universal from $600 to $660. Tesla has not provided an explanation for the increases. ## What it means for Canadian EV owners Even at $815, the Wall Connector remains one of the most reliable home chargers available in Canada. Its build quality, Wi-Fi connectivity, and over-the-air update support still justify the premium for many buyers. But the pace of increases is forcing shoppers to compare it against alternatives such as the Grizzl-E and Emporia units, which have stayed closer to their original price points. For Canadians who waited through the summer expecting a price drop, the latest adjustment confirms that home charging hardware is getting more expensive, not less. The $945 Universal model is now firmly in the territory of a high-end appliance rather than an impulse buy.

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Carney's Investment Summit Pitches Clean Energy Alongside $100B in Oil and Gas Projects

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:02:00 GMT

Prime Minister Mark Carney's two-day investment summit in Toronto wrapped up this week with a mixed message for clean-energy advocates: the deal book featured dozens of wind, solar, grid-upgrade and energy-storage projects, but it also included $35 billion-plus for a West Coast oil pipeline and $28.5 billion for the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal. According to CBC News, climate advocacy group Stand.earth estimates the summit's deal book contains $100 billion in new oil and gas projects that Carney is seeking investment in.

The summit brought 100 of the world's biggest investors to Toronto as Carney tries to attract foreign capital amid the escalating U.S. trade war. While proposed fossil-fuel projects dominated headlines, energy storage, grid upgrades, nuclear projects and renewables were all present in the deal book. David Pickup, director of the electricity program at the Pembina Institute, noted that clean energy investment is now roughly double that of fossil investment globally, citing Forbes reporting.

What the clean-energy numbers actually mean

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) estimates there is now 25 gigawatts of installed solar, wind and energy-storage capacity in Canada — a more than 50 per cent increase since 2020. That is enough to power about 18 million homes. CanREA is also tracking another 24 gigawatts that provinces are looking to procure in the future. CanREA president Vittoria Bellissimo called the summit an important signal that Canadian infrastructure is a stable investment, and estimated the total opportunity at $200 billion.

But the federal government's own electricity plan — Powering Canada Strong, announced in May — aims to double electricity generation throughout the country by 2050 using clean sources. Pickup said the investment summit's clean-energy projects are positive signs, but investment alone will not be enough. The government also needs strong policies that drive both future supply and demand for clean electricity, including an electric-vehicle strategy that shifts transportation from gasoline to the grid.

The EV connection

More electrons, not just more cars. Canada's electricity system must roughly double by 2050 if EV adoption is to deliver genuine emissions cuts rather than simply shifting tailpipe pollution to coal- or gas-fired generators.
Grid upgrades are the bottleneck. CanREA's 24 GW pipeline of future procurements will require new transmission lines and distribution upgrades that take years to permit and build.
Carbon pricing rollback undermines demand. Carney's cancellation of the consumer carbon tax removes the price signal that would otherwise push buyers toward EVs and heat pumps.
Canada is 20+ years behind. The Canadian Climate Institute says that on its current course, Canada's emissions in 2050 will be 460 megatonnes of carbon rather than the net-zero goal enshrined in law.

Over 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside the summit, with environmentalist David Suzuki telling CBC that a financial system that does not see the environment as the source of its wealth is doomed. The tension between the summit's fossil-fuel projects and its clean-energy aspirations encapsulates the central challenge for Canadian EV policy: without a credible cap on oil-and-gas expansion, even the most ambitious charger build-out and EV purchase incentives will not put Canada on a net-zero trajectory.

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Stellantis Signs Deal to Sell Brampton Assembly Plant to Armoured-Vehicle Maker

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Stellantis has agreed to sell its long-idled Brampton Assembly plant to Roshel, a Brampton-based manufacturer of armoured vehicles, according to a report from driving.ca. The automaker signed a memorandum of understanding to transfer the facility, which has sat idle since the end of 2023 after Stellantis discontinued the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Challenger — the only models the plant produced.

The sale comes amid tense contract negotiations between Stellantis and Unifor, the union representing the automaker's Canadian workers. Unifor says the two sides have “reached an impasse”, and the union notes that Stellantis has not confirmed forecasted plans for its Windsor facilities, which build the Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger, nor for the Etobicoke Casting Plant in Toronto.

What the Brampton plant was — and what it could have been

The Brampton plant opened in 1986 under American Motors Corporation and was acquired by Chrysler the following year. At its peak, it was one of the most flexible assembly facilities in Stellantis' global network. Before its shutdown, it was slated to build gasoline and electric versions of the all-new 2026 Jeep Compass, but Stellantis announced in October 2025 that the vehicle would move to its Ohio plant instead — a decision widely attributed to the Trump administration's tariffs on vehicles made outside the United States.

In late 2025, the Canadian government said Stellantis was “in default” on some $529 million in taxpayer funding intended to help retool the plant for electric-vehicle production. Earlier this year, Brampton's city council zoned the land strictly for auto production, closing off other potential uses — though rumours had circulated that the site could assemble China-based cars as knock-down kits. Stellantis owns a share of Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology and is the majority owner in Leapmotor International, the venture created to sell Leapmodels outside China.

What Roshel plans to do with the plant

Roshel builds armoured vehicles for military, law-enforcement and executive-protection customers. The company is based in Brampton, and the purchase would keep the plant in local hands — but it would end any remaining EV-manufacturing hope for the facility. Stellantis said it still has “plans for Brampton” and added a third shift to its Windsor plant after the Compass move, but no new model allocation has been announced.

No EV production on the immediate horizon. The Roshel sale ends the Brampton plant's role in Stellantis' electrification plans.
Unifor's leverage is weakening. With the plant sold and Windsor's future unconfirmed, the union has less bargaining power as talks continue.
The $529 million in federal funding remains unresolved. The government has not indicated whether it will recover the defaulted money or redirect it to other EV projects.
China-kit rumours are dead. The Leapmotor connection had raised hopes for Chinese-built EV assembly in Brampton; the MOU to Roshel closes that door.

The Brampton Assembly plant's transformation from a flagship EV-retooling project to an armoured-vehicle factory underscores how quickly Canada's auto-manufacturing landscape is shifting — and how much of it now depends on Washington's trade posture rather than Ottawa's policy signals.

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Whistler Gets 15 New Electric Buses as BC Transit Rolls Out 125-Vehicle Fleet

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:05:00 GMT

Whistler is about to add electric buses to its streets. The resort community's first 40-foot electric bus is scheduled to arrive this week, the first installment of 15 electric vehicles destined for local service. Four buses are expected between now and October, with the remaining 11 pencilled in for spring 2027 delivery.

The first units will not jump straight into passenger service. BC Transit plans to use them for employee training ahead of a later public launch, which means residents and visitors could see the buses on local roads during the training period even before timetabled service begins.

Part of a broader provincial rollout

Whistler is one of eight BC Transit systems receiving heavy-duty electric fleet upgrades. Between now and early 2028, 125 electric buses are meant to be delivered to Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Nelson, Powell River, the Sunshine Coast, Greater Victoria and Whistler. The scale makes it one of the larger single-province electric transit procurements in Canada this year.

The electrification projects are supported through the federal Zero Emission Transit Fund and the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Total investment exceeds $424 million, provided jointly by the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and local government partners.

Buses for Whistler: 15 total (4 by October, 11 by spring 2027)
Provincial rollout size: 125 electric buses across 8 systems
Delivery window: now through early 2028
Funding programs: Zero Emission Transit Fund + Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program
Total investment: more than $424 million

What it means for Whistler

For a community whose economy depends on visitors and mountain access, electric transit buses cut both noise and local emissions. The 40-foot format matches the size of conventional diesel coaches already in use, which simplifies depot charging and maintenance planning. BC Transit has not yet announced exact service dates, but the arrival of hardware this week moves Whistler from planning to practice.

The bigger picture

Electric bus adoption in Canada has clustered in a handful of provinces with active procurement programs, and British Columbia's multi-system rollout is one of the most visible. The $424 million envelope covers vehicles, charging infrastructure and facility upgrades, which means the project is not just about buses — it is about the entire electricity and garage ecosystem that keeps them running.

For EV observers, the Whistler deliveries also provide a real-world test of how electric heavy-duty transit performs in a mountain tourism market with steep grades, variable weather and a seasonal population spike. Those operating conditions differ from urban centre-to-centre routes, and the results will help other western Canadian communities decide whether to follow the same path.

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Yukon EV Drivers Face 480-Kilometre Charging Gap and Demand-Rate Barriers

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Driving an electric vehicle from Vancouver to Whitehorse sounds straightforward on paper, but the final stretch into Yukon exposes a charging gap and an electricity pricing structure that discourages the very infrastructure Yukon says it wants.

Grant Sullivan, CEO of Whitehorse-based Nihtat Energy Ltd., made the trip recently and documented the experience in the Yukon News. Through British Columbia, he wrote, the charging network operated reliably: B.C. Hydro stations were close enough together and performed well enough that he could recharge and continue without range anxiety. That changed the moment he crossed into Yukon.

The 480-kilometre gap

The distance from Dease Lake, B.C., to Teslin, Y.T., is roughly 480 kilometres, and there is currently no fast charger available along that route. For most EVs, that distance exceeds their rated range, making the stretch impassable without a top-up somewhere in between. Sullivan argues a 100 kW fast charger between Dease Lake and Teslin would remove the barrier.

A struggling charger in Teslin

When Sullivan reached Teslin, he found a 50-kilowatt charger listed as operational on PlugShare. In practice, it degraded sharply during his session — starting near 40 kW, then falling to 30, then 20, and finally 7 kW. Three other vehicles were waiting behind him. For those drivers, the malfunction added an estimated six to eight hours to an already long day, with only 178 kilometres remaining to Whitehorse.

Why Yukon rates choke private chargers

The deeper problem, Sullivan writes, is Yukon's General Service demand rate of $7.39 per kilowatt. A 150 kW public fast charger pays that rate on its peak draw — so $1,108.50 per month even if that peak occurs only once. Add capital costs, maintenance, networking, payment processing and taxes, and a station serving only 20 to 30 vehicles per month cannot cover its fixed costs.

Yukon's winter demand ratchet makes it worse. The utility can tie billing demand to the highest winter draw recorded over the previous 12 months. A charger that hits a high-output day in peak season ends up paying for capacity it rarely uses for the rest of the year.

Gap between Dease Lake and Teslin: ~480 km with no fast charger
Teslin charger output during Sullivan's stop: degraded from ~40 kW to 7 kW
Yukon General Service demand rate: $7.39/kW
Monthly demand charge for a 150 kW charger: ~$1,108.50
Extra travel time from Teslin charger failure: 6 to 8 hours

A seasonal mismatch

Sullivan points out that EV tourism peaks in summer, exactly when Yukon's hydro-heavy grid often has surplus generation. Visitors charging in the territory could turn excess electricity into local revenue. Instead, the current rate design treats a public fast charger like a factory running 24/7, which it is not.

What other provinces do

New Brunswick has already created a dedicated public fast-charging rate rather than applying ordinary commercial rates to EV stations. Sullivan does not ask Yukon to eliminate demand charges forever — utilities need revenue for capacity — but he wants a charger-specific rate with lower demand charges at low utilisation, a modified winter ratchet for qualifying stations, and seasonal or time-of-use pricing that rewards summer charging when the grid has spare headroom.

Government-owned chargers will still be needed in communities where no private business case exists, Sullivan acknowledges. But if Yukon wants private and First Nations operators to invest alongside government, the rate structure has to connect the pieces: summer visitors who need power, local businesses capable of providing it, and renewable electricity that is already available.

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Alberta's Lithium Reserves Could Power 10 Billion EV Batteries, New Assessment Finds

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:15:00 GMT

Alberta's subsurface contains an estimated 82.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, according to a new assessment by the Alberta Geological Survey and Alberta Energy Regulator. That volume places the province among the world's largest known lithium accumulations and could theoretically supply material for more than 10 billion electric vehicle battery packs over time. For Canadian EV buyers and manufacturers, the finding signals that the country's critical-minerals strategy is no longer theoretical — it is grounded in measurable geology.

How Alberta plans to produce lithium

Unlike the sprawling evaporation ponds or energy-intensive hard-rock mines that dominate global lithium production, Alberta is pursuing direct lithium extraction (DLE) from deep underground brines. The process uses solvents to pull lithium from salty formation water and then reinjects the spent brine back underground, significantly reducing land disturbance and water loss. Kim Mohler, vice-president of project development at GLJ Ltd, told EnergyNow that Alberta has an advantage because "a lot of the knowledge and infrastructure for drilling wells and producing deep subsurface brines is already in place" from decades of oil and gas development.

Most of Alberta's lithium resource is concentrated in the Devonian-age Leduc formation — the same geologic layer that launched the province's modern oil industry in 1947. Significant additional deposits sit in the Swan Hills and Nisku formations. Approximately two million hectares have already been leased for lithium exploration in Alberta, making the province a hot spot in the nascent DLE industry.

Why North American supply matters

Global lithium supply reached 1.28 million tonnes in 2024, according to the Canada Energy Regulator. North America produced just 40,000 tonnes — roughly 3.1 per cent of the global total. Canada accounted for approximately 5,983 tonnes, or about 2.5 per cent of world supply. Demand is projected to grow sharply: S&P Global forecasts U.S. consumption will increase by roughly 74 per cent annually while Canadian demand grows by about 40 per cent by the end of the decade, driven by EV sales and grid battery storage.

For Canadian EV buyers, the Alberta resource does not translate into lower vehicle prices tomorrow. DLE projects require years of permitting, pilot-plant testing, and offtake agreements before reaching commercial scale. E3 Lithium's pilot plant near Olds, Alta., shown in a CP Images photograph from September 2023, represents the kind of small-scale validation that must succeed before the province's 82.5 million tonnes become actual battery-grade lithium carbonate. The short-term impact is strategic: it reduces reliance on imported lithium from Chile, Argentina, and China, and gives Canadian battery assemblers a domestic feedstock option that the federal government's critical-minerals list already prioritizes.

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Canada's EV Import Quota for China-Made Cars Mostly Benefits Tesla

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 20:30:00 GMT

Canada's tariff-break deal with China for electric vehicles was sold as a way to bring affordable Chinese-made EVs to Canadian buyers. Six months into the first window, the data tells a different story: Tesla is the single largest beneficiary of the discounted 6.1-per-cent tariff rate, and the unused slots are now flowing into a second window that could see 33,397 China-built EVs land before February 2027.

The arrangement, struck in January 2026, allows 49,000 electric vehicles manufactured in China to enter Canada at 6.1 per cent instead of the usual 106.1 per cent. The quota is split into two time windows. By August 31, only 15,603 vehicles had been imported — leaving 8,897 unused slots that Global Affairs Canada transferred to the second window, which runs from September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027.

Why Tesla, not BYD, is leading the charge

The most surprising beneficiary is Tesla. The US automaker began shipping vehicles built at its Gigafactory in Shanghai to Canada in May 2026, taking advantage of the reduced tariff on China-manufactured vehicles. Tesla had previously halted China-sourced imports after Canada aligned with the United States and imposed a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese EVs in 2024. The lower rate now applies to any EV manufactured in China — not just Chinese-brand vehicles — which means Tesla's Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y qualify.

BYD, Chery, Geely, Leapmotor, MG Motor, Nio, Xpeng and Zeekr — the brands most observers expected to flood the market — are not yet active in Canada. BYD is not expected to launch until late 2026, and the others have no confirmed Canadian retail presence. A small number of Lotus, Polestar and GM-associated vehicles are also believed to have entered under the program, but official figures have not been published.

The numbers behind the quota

49,000 total China-made EV import slots over two windows.
15,603 vehicles imported during the first window (February–August 2026).
8,897 unused first-window slots transferred to the second window.
33,397 slots now available from September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027.
6.1% discounted tariff rate versus the standard 106.1 per cent.

What the second window means for Canadian buyers

The expanded second window creates a larger pool for discounted China-built EVs, but the same structural problem remains: without Chinese brands actually selling in Canada, the quota primarily benefits manufacturers that already have vehicles crossing the Pacific. Tesla's Shanghai production gives it a cost advantage that lower tariffs amplify. For buyers, the practical effect is more low-cost Tesla inventory — not a suddenly competitive field of Chinese-brand alternatives.

The political pressure around the quota is also rising. EnergyNow reported September 12 that Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne rejected a Stellantis proposal to assemble Chinese EVs in Canada as "cars in a kit," signalling Ottawa wants foreign automakers to invest locally rather than simply import. Whether that stance reshapes the second window remains to be seen.

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Nova Scotia's Grid Operator Opens a Technology-Neutral Hunt for Batteries — Gas Plants No Longer the Only Option

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 11:15:00 GMT

Nova Scotia's grid operator is changing course. The Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) announced September 11, 2026 that it will launch a technology-neutral request for qualifications (RFQ) in October — open to battery storage and any on-demand electricity generation technology — running in parallel with its contested procurement for fast-acting natural gas plants in Pictou County.

The move matters beyond Nova Scotia. In its 2026 State of Reliability report, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) identified Canada's Maritime region, including Nova Scotia, as the only region on the continent with elevated reliability risks. How the province solves its on-demand power problem — batteries, gas, or a mix — is a live test of the same coal-phase-out math most Canadian grids now face.

What is actually being procured

The new RFQ: launches October 2026 with submissions due January 2027. It seeks proponents' technology, locations, performance, project readiness and pricing, and is open to any storage or on-demand generation that can meet peak demand and back up renewables.
The existing gas procurement: the RFP for one or two 300-megawatt fast-acting natural gas plants at Salt Springs and Marshdale in Pictou County — issued July 10 — continues, but its deadline was extended to January 21, 2027.
The stated need: 300 to 600 megawatts of fast-acting capacity, identified in the province's Clean Power Plan and the last two Integrated Resource Plans.

Why the timeline accelerated

The energy-storage procurement was initially planned to launch at the end of 2026. It was moved up and broadened after Premier Tim Houston — who had previously backed the gas-only approach — said in early September he wanted the grid operator to consider other technologies. Opposition leaders noted the pivot came only after the premier's change of heart, with interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin telling CBC the operator has a "veneer of independence," and NDP Leader Claudia Chender calling for transparency about communications between the premier's office and the IESO.

IESO president and CEO Johnny Johnston rejected the idea the decision was politically directed: "We always have a mandate to align with government policy," he told CBC, "but really today's announcement comes from months of engagement and feedback with the local community."

The reliability math behind it

The stakes are concrete. Coal still supplies about 40 per cent of Nova Scotia's electricity today, and provincial law eliminates it by 2030 — the same year 80 per cent of generation must come from renewables like wind, which do not produce on demand. Low-wind periods can last for days, and the IESO says new on-demand resources are needed to prevent rotating outages through that transition.

Batteries are the leading challenger technology. Nova Scotia already has three grid-scale battery facilities, and they charge when wind and solar produce a surplus, then discharge when the grid needs power. Community group LEAP (Living Ecosystems And Power), which opposes the Pictou gas plants, says other provinces chose storage on price: "There is a reason other provinces have gone with battery storage considering the cost of gas generating plants versus battery storage — there is a major difference in price," spokesman Mark Brennan told the Pictou County Advocate.

What happens next

The IESO says information from the October RFQ will inform the parallel gas-plant decision — including whether any gas plants are built at all. "Not having enough electricity to power Nova Scotians' businesses, homes, schools, and healthcare is not an option," Johnston said in the announcement. "The coordinated procurement approach we are announcing today strikes the right balance between addressing Nova Scotia's critical electricity reliability needs and ensuring we make the most cost-effective decisions on behalf of Nova Scotians."

For EV drivers in the region, the outcome is directly relevant: more grid-scale storage means more low-cost renewable electricity available overnight and at peak — the hours when most home charging happens. Grid batteries are already proving they can deliver power-plant-scale output elsewhere on the continent, as Tesla's 507 MW virtual power plant event demonstrated.

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Toyota Expands Highlander Recall to 52,750 Vehicles in Canada — Don't Use the Second-Row Seats Yet

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 02:15:00 GMT

Toyota has sharply expanded a Canadian safety recall covering the second-row seatback recliners in Highlander and Highlander Hybrid SUVs. The new Transport Canada notice, posted September 10-11, 2026, grows the recall to 52,750 vehicles from model years 2021 to 2025 — an increase of 12,853 over the previous notice, which covered roughly 40,000 units from 2021-2023.

Transport Canada says the new recall replaces the earlier one entirely, after the defect was identified as potentially present in 2024 and 2025 model-year vehicles as well.

What the defect is

According to the recall notice issued by Transport Canada, the seatback recliners for the second-row seats "may not have been manufactured properly." As a result, "the seatback(s) may not lock in position and could move in a crash… A seatback that moves could increase the risk of injury in a crash," the notice says.

Toyota's guidance to owners is unusually direct: do not use the second-row seats to transport passengers until the recall repair is completed. Given that the second row of a three-row family SUV is frequently used for child seats and younger passengers, that precaution is the practical headline of the whole notice. Toyota has not been made aware of any injuries linked to the defect.

The fix

Repair: dealership technicians replace the return springs in the second-row seatback recliner assemblies with improved ones.
Cost: free of charge to owners.
Notification: Toyota says owners of vehicles in the expanded notice will be notified by late September, with instructions to take the vehicle to a dealership.

A busy recall year for Toyota Canada

The Highlander expansion lands in a year of steady Toyota recall activity in Canada. In January, the automaker recalled 12,179 Tundra trucks (2024-2025) over a faulty rear-view camera. In February, nearly 20,000 Prius vehicles were recalled for a risk of rear doors opening while driving. In August, more than 11,000 Camrys in Canada were recalled for a display issue that could disable turn signals, hazard lights and warning sounds at startup — part of a global recall of roughly 655,000 Camrys.

What affected owners should do now

If you drive a 2021-2025 Highlander or Highlander Hybrid, check Toyota of Canada's owner site or Transport Canada's recall database with your VIN (Toyota customer service: 1-888-869-6828), watch for the mailed notice, and keep passengers out of the second row until the spring replacement is done. One quirk noted in coverage of the recall: this Highlander generation spans 2020 through 2026 model years, but neither the initial 2020 version nor the final 2026 model year is included in the recall scope — worth confirming your exact model year against the official notice rather than assuming.

Recalls move fast in Canada's EV era — OTA software fixes now resolve many defects overnight, as Tesla's Chinese recalls demonstrated — but a hardware fault like a seat recliner spring still requires a physical dealership visit.

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Brantford Transit Adds Its First Two Electric Buses — Canadian-Made New Flyer XE40s

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 02:10:00 GMT

Brantford, Ontario is joining Canada's battery-electric transit ranks. Brantford Transit is adding its first two electric buses — 12-metre New Flyer XE40s manufactured in Canada, carrying the message "Zero Emissions. 100% Canadian." — and both are expected to enter regular service this month, according to the City of Brantford's announcement reported by the Brantford Expositor on September 11, 2026.

The purchase is a deliberately incremental one: rather than replacing diesel vehicles, the two buses expand the 38-bus fleet's overall capacity, letting the city learn battery-electric operations on a small scale before committing further.

What the buses cost

Each XE40: just over $1.67 million, versus roughly $942,000 for a diesel model — a premium of more than $700,000 per bus.
Charging infrastructure: an additional $652,000 for charging equipment purchase and installation, plus electrical upgrades to the Transit Services Centre where the buses charge overnight.

What the city expects to save

"While electric buses have a higher upfront cost, they are expected to reduce fuel costs by 50 to 80 per cent and maintenance costs by 25 to 40 per cent over their service life, based on current estimates, compared to diesel buses," said Shane Pepper, the city's director of fleet and transit services, in the city's news release.

On emissions, the city's estimated operating data projects each bus will cut about 90 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year compared with a conventional diesel bus — a reduction it likens to the CO₂ absorbed by roughly 4,500 mature trees. The buses produce zero tailpipe emissions and run more quietly than diesel, which the city says will improve air quality and the rider experience on routes across the city.

Why Brantford is starting small

The two buses support the city's Climate Change Action Plan and follow recommendations from its Transit Fleet Electrification Feasibility Study, which identified opportunities to cut emissions from fleet operations. "While the Brantford Transit team gains valuable experience operating and maintaining battery electric vehicles, riders will enjoy a quieter and cleaner trip. The lessons learned from these first two buses will help inform how we plan for the future," Pepper said.

"Introducing electric buses to Brantford Transit's fleet is an important step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from city operations and advancing our climate action goals," said Sue Brocklebank, the city's climate change officer. Brantford Transit will monitor the performance of the new vehicles to inform future fleet planning.

Part of a bigger Canadian pattern

Brantford's step mirrors the national trend: Canadian zero-emission bus sales have scaled up quickly as transit systems pair federal co-funding with depot-charging builds — Canadian ZEV bus sales nearly doubled in 2025, and larger systems like Winnipeg Transit are moving to electric fleets in bigger batches. For a mid-size Ontario city, the $1.67-million-per-bus premium and $652,000 charging investment is the standard entry ticket — and the 50-to-80-per-cent fuel savings estimate is the number that determines whether the second batch follows.

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Canada Is Now More Than 20 Years Behind Its 2030 Emissions Target, New Analysis Finds

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:05:00 GMT

Canada would be lucky to hit its 2030 emissions target in 2050 — more than 20 years behind schedule — under the policies governments have actually put in place, according to new analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute's 440 Megatonnes project, done in partnership with Navius Research. Net zero by 2050, the legislated goal, is described as "nowhere in sight" on the current trajectory.

The numbers behind that headline are large. National emissions in 2040 are projected to be at least 202 million tonnes above levels aligned with a net-zero pathway — a gap the Institute says is roughly equivalent to leaving an extra 44 million gasoline-powered cars on the road, or nearly the combined emissions of Ontario and British Columbia. By 2050, Canada's emissions would be 460 megatonnes higher than the net-zero target.

Why the projections got worse

The analysis finds Canada's projected emissions are higher now largely because governments across the country have rolled back several climate policy commitments, including:

Weakened industrial carbon pricing
Delayed methane regulations
Changes to electric vehicle policy
A cancelled oil and gas emissions cap

The projection includes the implementation agreement for the Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding. The EV policy point lands directly on this site's beat: the federal landscape has shifted from a hard ZEV sales mandate toward flexible regulations — a consultation on repealing the federal ZEV mandate runs through October 29, and rebate programs have been stepping down on a published schedule.

The part of the story that's genuinely good news

Crucially, the analysis demonstrates that climate policies have been working. Without the current suite of policy measures in place across the country, national emissions would be projected to be more than 90 megatonnes higher in 2030 — roughly equivalent to the total emissions from all passenger road, rail and air travel within Canada today. The rollback story is not "policies failed"; it is "policies that were reducing emissions got weakened."

The federal government has promised further measures that could reduce more emissions, including updates to carbon pricing standards, new regulations targeting the equivalent of 75 per cent EV sales by 2035 and 90 per cent by 2040, and a strategy to expand power grids and electrify the economy. The Institute notes the final details — and therefore the effectiveness — of those measures remain to be determined.

Quotes from the Institute

"At this rate, Canada would be lucky to hit its 2030 target in 2050 — 20 years behind schedule. That's an outcome we frankly can't afford," said Rick Smith, President of the Canadian Climate Institute.

"Canada is putting its climate commitments on the back burner at the same moment our international peers and trading partners are leaning harder into the clean energy transition," said Dale Beugin, the Institute's Executive Vice President, calling the emissions gap "a flashing warning light about Canada's international competitiveness in the decades ahead."

What it means for Canadian EV drivers

For Canadians who drive electric — or are considering it — the analysis is context, not a verdict on their choice. The 90-megatonne figure shows existing policies, including vehicle electrification programs, are measurably bending the curve. The open question is whether the promised 75-per-cent-by-2035 EV regulations arrive with enough force to close the gap the rollbacks opened. The new research also lands alongside the Institute's 2026 Canada's Changing Climate assessment, which projects about 2.7°C of warming over Canada's next two decades regardless of further action — a reminder that transportation electrification is one of the few levers individual households control directly.

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Nano One Advances First 'Development Company' Project to Build LFP Cathode Production in Canada

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Nano One Materials has begun advancing its first Development Company — "Canada DevCo" — as the Burnaby, B.C.-based company's vehicle to deploy lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode production at commercial scale in Canada. The announcement, made by the company on September 11, moves the Canadian battery-materials sector from pilot demonstrations toward a full production footprint.

The company has started a site evaluation study for a proposed 25,000-tonne-per-year cathode production facility, with potential expansion to up to 100 ktpa of capacity. The project aims to serve energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicle and defence markets in Canada and internationally, and the study will assess access to utilities, key infrastructure and permitting roadmaps.

What the DevCo model actually is

Nano One's Development Company structure pairs the company's technology, engineering and services with partners who contribute construction capital and offtake agreements, with each project financed on its own merits through a combination of government and private investment. The Canada DevCo is the first deployment of that model, and the site evaluation work is explicitly aimed at preparing operational site options for ongoing discussions with potential customers and strategic partners.

"There is increasing market pull from customers for the industry to deliver LFP cathode active materials from a regionally focused and resilient supply chain," said Denis Geoffroy, Nano One's Chief Operating Officer. "Discussions with potential strategic partners and customers for Canada DevCo are progressing."

Why Canada, and why now

Nano One points to competitive industrial power costs and one of the lowest-carbon electricity grids globally as Canadian advantages, along with regional access to key input materials. The project will draw on experience operating the company's Candiac, Quebec demonstration facility to support technical development, training and operational readiness for future production facilities.

The announcement aligns with the country's automotive, defence and critical minerals strategies — Canada's Critical Minerals List identifies LFP and its feedstock materials as important. The company is engaging with numerous Canadian suppliers at various stages of development for battery-grade lithium carbonate, phosphoric acid and iron feedstocks, testing their materials through the Burnaby R&D centre and the Candiac demonstration facility. A particular focus is iron: while Canada is a major iron ore supplier, securing local iron feedstock with suitable characteristics for LFP production remains key ongoing work.

Engineering already underway

Early development workstreams have started, including engineering of the standardized 25,000-tonne-per-year plant design based on the One-Pot LFP CAM Package — work supported in part by funding from Natural Resources Canada, announced April 8, 2026. Customer qualification continues in parallel at Candiac.

The Canada DevCo advances the global LFP strategy Nano One outlined on August 26, 2026. That strategy matters beyond Canada: Chinese producers currently dominate global LFP output, and every Western cathode plant that reaches production shortens the qualification pipeline for cell makers seeking non-Chinese supply.

What it means for Canadian EV buyers

No dealership sticker changes this year — a cathode plant is upstream of the vehicles Canadians drive. But the direction matters for the country's battery build-out. Canada's EV industrial strategy has leaned on cell plants like NextStar in Windsor and materials projects like Nano One's; a domestic LFP cathode source would give those plants a regional alternative to imported cathode material, and the DevCo structure means construction capital comes from partners rather than diluting shareholders. Nano One says it expects to provide further updates as site evaluation, supply chain qualification and partner discussions progress.

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Tesla Supercharger Prices Rise at More Than 200 Canadian Sites — and Drop at 65

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Tesla has quietly rolled out one of the broadest Supercharger price changes Canada has seen, leaving most drivers paying more than they were a day earlier. A review of rates across the country by Drive Tesla Canada found prices went up at more than 200 sites, dropped at 65 locations, and held steady at 10 — a reshuffle that touches every province with a Supercharger footprint.

For most Tesla owners the increase is small, typically $0.01 to $0.03 per kWh. But the exceptions are concentrated in Alberta and Ontario, and drivers of non-Tesla EVs that use the Supercharger network through the NACS/CCS adapter path saw sharper jumps at some locations.

Where prices climbed hardest

In Calgary and Edmonton, several Superchargers jumped from $0.51 to $0.57 per kWh — including Calgary's 130 Avenue SE and Aviation Road NE sites, along with all three Edmonton locations. Non-Tesla EV drivers took a bigger hit at the same stations: the 130 Avenue SE rate climbed from $0.68 to $0.82 per kWh, and Edmonton's Currents Drive site rose from $0.64 to $0.78.

Ontario followed the pattern — smaller cities saw roughly two-cent increases, while busier peak-priced stations moved more. Ottawa's Campeau Drive peak rate rose from $0.44 to $0.52 per kWh (its off-peak rate held at $0.28), Burlington moved from $0.51 to $0.56 peak, and Kitchener from $0.51 to $0.54.

The single largest jump was in Atlantic Canada: Enfield, Nova Scotia rose from $0.64 to $0.71 per kWh at peak, though its off-peak price dropped from $0.38 to $0.35.

Notable Supercharger price changes

Location	Old (Tesla)	New (Tesla)	Change
Calgary — 130 Ave SE, AB	$0.51	$0.57	+$0.06
Edmonton — Currents Dr NW, AB	$0.51	$0.57	+$0.06
Ottawa — Campeau Dr, ON (peak)	$0.44	$0.52	+$0.08
Burlington, ON (peak)	$0.51	$0.56	+$0.05
Kitchener, ON (peak)	$0.51	$0.54	+$0.03
Enfield, NS (peak)	$0.64	$0.71	+$0.07
Victoria — Uptown, BC (peak)	$0.33	$0.35	+$0.02
Comox, BC	$0.24	$0.22	−$0.02
Nanaimo — Woodgrove, BC (peak)	$0.29	$0.26	−$0.03
Squamish, BC (peak)	$0.45	$0.40	−$0.05
North Vancouver — Lonsdale, BC (peak)	$0.50	$0.45	−$0.05
Delta — Cliveden Ave, BC (peak)	$0.37	$0.29	−$0.08

B.C. is the winner this round

British Columbia's changes were the mirror image of Alberta's. Prices dropped at many highway and Interior stations — Campbell River, Tofino, Port Alberni and Kamloops among them are now $0.03 per kWh cheaper, and Williams Lake fell from $0.26 to $0.23. Urban sites were mixed: Victoria's Uptown peak rose two cents to $0.35 while its off-peak held at $0.21, and the two Nanaimo stations moved in opposite directions.

The pattern in the data is consistent: Tesla is pushing peak-time rates up in congested urban corridors while trimming rates at highway and off-peak-oriented sites — a pricing nudge that shifts road-trip charging away from the busiest hours. That aligns with the off-peak structure Tesla has expanded in Canada since 2023.

What it means for Canadian drivers

The practical takeaway for Canadian EV drivers is that Supercharger pricing is now genuinely dynamic — checking the app or in-car navigation before a session matters more than remembering last month's rate. The widening gap between peak and off-peak pricing also strengthens the case for comparing home charging against public fast charging costs, since even the largest increase here ($0.08/kWh at Campeau Drive) is billed only during peak windows. For a rough sense of scale: a 50 kWh top-up at Enfield's new $0.71 peak rate costs about $35.50, versus $32 at the old rate.

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Model	Q2 2026	YoY	H1 2026
Model Y	4,155	+98.0%	8,390 (+79.8%)
Cybertruck	725	+116.4%	1,435 (+92.9%)
Model 3	730	-59.1%	1,530 (-61.5%)
Model X	80	-52.1%	275 (-26.1%)
Model S	75	-33.0%	265 (+6.9%)
Total Tesla	5,765	+28.1%	11,895 (+19.0%)

Network	2026 score	Notes
IONNA	807	First place; JV of 8 automakers
Mercedes-Benz Charging Network	797	Also open in Canada
Rivian Adventure Network	755	Third place
Tesla Supercharger	701	Down from 709; 5-time former winner
Industry average	666	Up 12 points year-over-year

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