Switch to EVs under Canada's new timeline is doable for N.W.T., say experts

After the year 2035, a federal plan means Canadians won't be able to purchase new passenger vehicles that are powered solely by gas or diesel, which could have unique implications for the N.W.T.

This week, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced a new regulation that will eventually end the sale of new combustion vehicles and encourage car manufacturers to make more battery-powered vehicles available in Canada. 

Experts say the switch to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid EVs in the North is both doable and desirable, but it comes with some challenges.

"What we've seen so far, as far as EV technology, is that it does work quite well in the northern climate," said Mark Heyck, executive director of the Arctic Energy Alliance, an N.W.T. non-profit for renewable energy.

In part, that's because it's easy to plug an EV in to a regular plug for a slow charge at home, many parking lots have chargers, and because "for most northern communities, we're not really traveling more than 10, 15, or 20 kilometres per day," Heyck said.

"The biggest challenge for us is going to be that fast charging technology on major transportation corridors," he said.

One such corridor is already underway: a network of high-speed EV chargers, connecting residents of the N.W.T. from Yellowknife to Alberta, has been fully funded and is set to be completed by the end of 2024. 

Heyck says since December 2020, more than 40 NWT residents have applied for the territory's rebate program, which subsidizes the purchase of a new EV or hybrid EV.

"That's to me a positive indication that a lot of people have confidence in the technology and confidence that it'll work," he said.

12 years to go

Automakers will have the next 12 years to phase out combustion engine cars, trucks and SUVs and they will have to gradually increase the proportion of EV models they offer for sale each year.

It will start with 20 per cent in 2026 and rise slightly to 23 per cent in 2027. After that, the share of EVs will begin to increase much faster, so that by 2028, 34 per cent of all vehicles sold will need to be electric — 43 per cent by 2029 and 60 per cent by 2030.

That number keeps rising until it hits 100 per cent in 2035.

Heyck said he thinks it will be more of a challenge to make the switch for the territories than for the provinces, as some northern communities have little to no electrical infrastructure. It should be doable, though, he added, within the minister's timeline — and there will still be combustion vehicles on the road well past 2035.

Benjamin Israel, the senior co-ordinator of energy for the Northwest Territories government, said combustion engine cars will still be able to go in for repairs in 2035. But how the transition will work for small communities that aren't on the electrical grid is still unknown, he said.

Currently, it creates more emissions to power a fast charging station with diesel than it does to drive a regular combustion car, Israel explained.

"We need to do a bit more research to understand how smaller communities with small diesel generators can actually accommodate fast charging stations," he said.

However, he noted that if a person is driving between two communities that are on the hydro grid, and has to stop for a charge along the way in a community where the charger uses diesel, the overall emissions would still be less than driving a gas-powered vehicle. 

The federal government will need to help the territories address the electrical infrastructure gap if it's serious about electrifying transportation, Israel said, which will need to include more charging stations and could include a "modernization of the electricity grid in the North."