Vancouver advances urban climate action with EV charging

By January 2025 all gas stations and commercial parking lots in Vancouver will need to have an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure available to avoid paying a higher business licence fee.

Vancouver City Council said this further advances its climate action targets of reducing fossil fuels, cutting carbon pollution by 50 per cent by 2030, and ensuring 50 per cent of the kilometres driven on the city’s roads are by zero-emissions vehicles by 2030.

Electric charging network

Gas stations will provide charging at locations where people are used to fuelling up, and parking lots will provide charging at locations where people will already be parked. This will facilitate a more evenly distributed charging network across Vancouver, including in currently underserved areas.

This will also support many Vancouver residents, including renters, who may not be able to install charging at home.

This will facilitate a more evenly distributed charging network across Vancouver, including in currently underserved areas

The city has been active in supporting the shift to zero-emissions transportation for more than a decade. This has helped Vancouver to have the highest proportion of new electric vehicles sold in North America, with nearly one in eight of all new light-duty vehicles being electric.

Other actions to support EV uptake include: 

• Expanding the EV public charging network and adding more fast chargers so there is one within a 10-minute drive of everyone in the city
• Requiring 100 per cent EV-ready stalls in all new residential developments
• Adding more EV charging to new non-residential developments
• Introducing an EV cord cover licence programme that makes on-street residential charging safer
• Expanding the City’s EV fleet and purchasing Canada’s first electric fire truck.