Electrify Canada, the Canadian division of Electrify America, which in turn is a subsidiary of VW, announced that “it will launch its nation-wide electric vehicle (EV) charging network with over 20 installations planned to roll out at select Canadian Tire locations across Canada.”

After forming ‘Electrify America’ last year in order to comply with their settlement with the EPA and CARB over the Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen started embracing electric vehicles and taking full advantage of being forced to deploy EV charging infrastructure.

While not forced to, they decided to expand to Canada and formed Electrify Canada last year.

They started working on the network and today’s announcement is the biggest development to date with 20 new charging stations with 50 kW and 150 kW to 350 kW chargers. They use both CCS and CHAdeMO charging outlets.

Rob Barrosa, Chief Operating Officer of Electrify Canada, commented on the announcement:

“Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s most recognizable and trusted retailers, making this collaboration a natural fit. We are thrilled to be entering into a relationship with a company that has strong Canadian roots and shares the same values and core beliefs of providing convenience and reliability of services to users. Together we look forward to bringing a positive charge to EV drivers across the country.”

Canadian Tire is a chain store that used to focus on car parts and tires, but it has since expanded to sell general hardware and small appliances.

Andrew Davies, Senior Vice President of Automotive at Canadian Tire, commented:

“As a trusted Canadian brand that is a part of communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast, Canadian Tire is responding to Canadians’ desire to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, through initiatives that include making EV charging stations available at select locations across the country. At its roots, Canadian Tire is an automotive company, and for over 97 years we have evolved to meet the needs of our customers. We are excited to work with Electrify Canada to bring their leading-edge technology to our EV-driving customers.”

The selected Canadian Tire locations are in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec.

Electrek’s Take

I’m always down for more charging stations, but I have a few problems with these.

First off, I am not sure Canadian Tire stores, which are often located in malls and in cities, are the best locations to enable long-distance travel.

Secondly, it’s also not cheap:

Fortunately, they are making a lot of deals with automakers to allow free charging for new cars for the first few years, but otherwise, it’s expensive.

But still, it’s more charging options.

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