Petro-Canada announces construction of 50 charging stations to create country's first 'electric highway'

Petro-Canada has pledged to build 50 electric vehicle charging stations across the entire Trans-Canada highway.

Construction is set to begin in the spring and the sites will open over the next year. They will be strategically placed along the highway from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. “Keeping Canadians moving is what we do,” Kris Smith, executive vice president of Downstream at Suncor, said.

“We know the needs of our customers are evolving as we transition to a low-carbon future which is why we are excited to expand our current offering to support this growing customer segment.”

He added: “With more than 1,800 retail and wholesale locations across the country, we have the network in place to build Canada’s first electric highway, providing coast-to-coast EV charging for our customers. We’re also investing in the fastest charging EV technology available today, which will be able to easily upgrade as technology advances.”

The stations will offer DC fast chargers with both CHAdeMO and CCS/SAE connectors. Their 200 kilowatt charge should be enough to get most electric vehicles up to 80% in under 30 minutes. With future upgrades, Petro-Canada says the stations could be capable of 350 kilowatt charging.