Electric vehicles have a chicken-and-egg problem in rural Canada.
Until there are enough charging sites that drivers feel no constraints on travel, electric vehicle purchase will be a hard sell. And until there are enough electric vehicles to create demand for those charging stations, there isn’t an urgent push to install them.
When Western Canada’s premiers met last month, federal clean energy regulations were one of the topics discussed. A June 27 summary of the conference noted that premiers “expressed concern that the federal Clean Electricity Regulations are unattainable and unaffordable for some jurisdictions given current technologies and timelines.”
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When it comes to electric vehicles in rural Canada, they have a point.
For rural Canadians as a whole to be convinced to buy electric, I suspect the inconvenience of finding a charging site will have to equate with the current level of hassle in finding a gas station.
If that’s the line, we’re nowhere close.
A directory of public charging stations run by the website ChargeHub shows 68 locations within the City of Winnipeg and 37 in the City of Brandon. The rest of the province, together, has 13, five of which are in Headingley, barely outside the perimeter.
That isn’t a robust network, especially when most aspects of rural life require driving.
If the federal government wants vehicles out here to ditch gas, a veritable explosion of infrastructure investment is needed. No wonder the provinces are nervous about who would foot that bill.
To compare another technology, consider cell phones. Almost everyone has one, and they’ve been in common use for the last 20 years. Although most residents need service and decades have elapsed in which to build the necessary infrastructure, there are still wide swaths of rural Canada with little to no coverage.
After all, providing a high level of service to a sparse population is a hard financial case to make.
As vehicle electrification moves forward, we need to guard against similar service gaps.
None of that considers the indirect issues of a widespread switch to electric.
There is the question of the power grid. Manitoba may have an advantage there. Our ready access to hydro is frequently cited by companies who set up shop in this province. Manitoba Hydro’s own info page on electric vehicles boasts low rates and locally produced power.
At the same time, though, the Crown corporation recommends charging vehicles between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to help free up electrical supply during the day.
Fire is another indirect consideration. Electric vehicle fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish.
As the electric vehicle wave approaches, fire departments are adding new procedures, training and equipment geared specifically for that kind of threat. But in rural Canada, many fire departments rely on volunteers and may not have the resources of larger, urban departments.
If everyone’s going electric, local first responders must also be given the tools needed to properly serve their communities.
Yet another consideration brings us back to infrastructure.
Electric vehicles are fun to drive, or so says everyone I’ve met who has tried one. They have torque in spades.
They’re also a lot heavier, as much as 33 per cent heavier for new electric SUVs and trucks, according to an April report from Global News.
That has obvious implications in terms of accident severity, but that much extra mass will also weigh heavily on road infrastructure.
Aside from the added burden of electric passenger vehicles, electric semis are being introduced by companies like Tesla and Freightliner. But road maintenance is already a perennial struggle in a climate that freezes, thaws and floods with regularity.
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Every spring, trucks need to navigate around weight restrictions. What kind of adjustments will be needed if suddenly the traffic is so much heavier? How much extra maintenance will it mean for the province in the long run?
I’m not trying to be a naysayer. Innovation should be encouraged and sustainability solutions sought. But when it comes to rural Canada and electric vehicles, there are very real logistical questions that must be answered.
