Late last year, Canadian Tire announced that it had partnered with Electrify Canada to set up a small number of electric vehicle charging stations at 20 different store locations across the country.
Now the retail giant has announced a significant expansion of its charging station initiative, pledging to install 240 fast chargers and an additional 55 Level 2 chargers at 90 Canadian Tire locations before the end of the year.
A number of corporate partners are helping to make this initiative a reality. Some of the charging stations will be provided by FLO, a manufacturer of public and personal vehicle charge stations that is owned by Quebec-based company Add Energie. Other charge stations will be provided by Tesla, while others will be supplied by the Volkswagen-owned Electrify Canada.
The federal government is also coughing up some cash for the charging stations, committing $2.7-million to build 54 of the chargers in central and western Canada. It's not clear how much money companies like FLO, Tesla and Canadian tire are spending on the new chargers.
The announcement drew praise from Canada's minister of natural resources, Seamus O'Reagan, who said the "move towards more zero-emission vehicles is an integral part of our transition to a clean energy future.”
“We are giving Canadians cleaner choices on the road by investing in infrastructure from coast-to-coast," O'Reagan added.
Canadian Tire sees the addition of electric vehicle charge stations to its store locations as a natural progression for its automotive retail business, which remains an integral part of the company.
“Automotive is a heritage business for Canadian Tire and we have always evolved to meet the needs of drivers," said Canadian Tire Retail's vice president for automotive, Andrew Davies. "With our premium real estate assets, we are able to provide convenient locations across the nation to service the growing number of EV vehicles in Canada."
Canadian Tire started its petroleum business in 1958 and started selling gas at its stores shortly after as a way to increase customer traffic. The first Canadian Tire gas bar was opened in 1958 at its Yonge Street location in Toronto.
Similar to the gas pumps in 1958, the new charge stations may help bring additional visitors to Canadian Tire stores, with this expansion set to make the retail company's charging network one of the largest in the country.
Sam loves to drive and write, so naturally, he combined the two! A freelance automotive journalist with over five years of experience and a Journalism diploma from St. Clair College, Sam loves to make all sorts of high-quality content related to the automotive industry.
