A growing number of Canadians are buying electric vehicles. The federal government has said the switch from gas to electric vehicles is “crucial for reaching our climate goals” while keeping the air clean and saving people money over time.
But so far, Canadian EV owners tend to live in just three provinces, in certain kinds of communities, and come from certain demographics.
So, who is making the switch? How is that changing? And why are some groups of Canadians making the switch EVs, while others are still buying gas?
In Canada, EVs represented 17 per cent of all new cars sold in 2024, up from 13 per cent in 2023, the International Energy Agency reported. Last year, 252,000 fully electric or plug-in hybrid electric cars were sold in Canada.
A huge majority of the sales have been in B.C., Ontario and Quebec, where more than 92 per cent of new EVs were registered in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Cara Clairman, president and CEO of Plug’n Drive, an organization focused on public education about EVs, credits rebates and sales targets in B.C. and Quebec. Both B.C. and Quebec are ending their rebate programs, but still have sales targets. For example, 26 per cent of light-duty vehicles sold in B.C. must be zero-emission vehicles in 2026. (Ontario also had an EV rebate program from 2010 to 2018, and allows EVs to use carpool lanes.)
The EV sales mandates mean more dealers have EVs on their lots in those provinces, and therefore sell more, Clairman said. In many parts of Canada, it’s still impossible to test drive an EV, she adds — “And who’s going to buy one without trying?”
Her organization is trying to fill the gap by touring the country, offering test drives of the latest electric and plug-in hybrid sedans, SUVs and pickup trucks from brands such as Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Volvo, in different communities.
The federal government launched its own ZEV sales targets in 2023, starting with 20 per cent in 2026 and rising to 100 per cent in 2035.
Maps of EV registrations in southwestern B.C. and in Ontario, two of the top markets for EVs, show strong uptake of EVs in lower-density urban and suburban areas.
Julia Kyriazis is director of public affairs for Clean Energy Canada, a think-tank affiliated with Simon Fraser University that’s focused on the transition to renewable energy and cleaner technologies.
She said suburbs are “your best place to go electric” because they’re dominated by single-family homes where it’s easy to install home charging.
Suburban dwellers tend to have longer car commutes and fewer transit options than those who live downtown. “With an EV, the more you drive, the more you save compared to a gas car,” she said.
Many suburban households also have more than one car, which means they can keep a gas car for road trips if they’re worried about charging en route.
A survey of 16,041 Canadian users of the Plugshare app, which helps drivers find EV charging stations, was conducted last October by the Canadian Automobile Association and Plugshare Research with support from other groups including Plug’n Drive.
A snapshot of its respondents found 58 per cent were over age 55, four in five live in single-family homes, nine in 10 own their own home, and half of EV drivers have at least one gas-powered vehicle in their household.
Similar patterns hold in the U.S., where 60 per cent of the country’s 33 million EVs are expected to be in suburban areas by 2030. The remainder would be split evenly between urban and rural areas.
Clairman said in most provinces now, public EV charging infrastructure is “quite good” in both urban and surburban areas.
However, in dense urban areas, many residents may face challenges getting at-home EV charging in apartment or condo buildings where they live, and even owners of single-family homes may be “garage orphans” who rely on street parking and don’t have a reliable place to plug in at home.
Kyriazis recently co-authored a study showing that governments aren’t doing what it takes to provide EV charging access to the third of Canadian households who live in apartments and condo buildings.
“That’s really locking them out of the EV transition,” she said, adding that it’s a missed opportunity, since many young people keen to get EVs live in that type of housing.
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In rural areas, Clairman said, “for some folks [EVs] can really work.” Rural residents are also likely to drive long distances and own a single-family home.
In Quebec, which has 2,000 fast-charging stations across the province and plans to have 6,700 by 2030, Clairman says there’s “quite a lot” of rural adoption.
The Community Energy Association, which has been installing charging networks in rural areas of B.C., Alberta and Ontario, say once public charging is available, EV adoption rates in rural areas can be on par with those in urban areas.
Clairman acknowledges that there are still rural routes without enough charging infrastructure, such as through northern Ontario, and a full battery EV may not work there. But she added, “Don’t forget about the plug-in hybrid, which is the perfect compromise vehicle.”
Clairman said she had noticed for years that more men tended to come to Plug’n Drive’s test drive events.
“Even when couples came, the woman would say, ‘Oh, he can drive,'” she recalled, adding that she encouraged them to both do a test drive.
David Kovach, head of Plugshare Research the U.S.-based group that co-led the CAA survey, said three quarters of Plugshare app users are men — the same proportion of men who responded to the Canadian survey. While the survey wasn’t necessarily representative of the Canadian EV driver population, other surveys suggest men are adopting EVs more quickly in the U.S. and the U.K.
Plug’n Drive partnered with Women in Renewable Energy to survey women about why. They found women had safety concerns about public charging, because in the past, there weren’t a lot of options and they were often located in more isolated locations. Clairman said chargepoint operators have become more mindful of that, and it’s changing.
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Kovach said more charging stations are being added to gas stations and travel centres with more traffic. Fast charging speeds have increased in the U.S. with the addition of more powerful chargers, cutting charging times from up to 40 minutes down to as little as 10 or 15, and that “makes a huge difference in terms of people’s perception on safety,” he added.
Plug’n Drive’s survey found that the affordability of vehicles was also an issue for women, who make less money than men on average.
“The early adopters did tend to be higher income because at that time, the vehicles were more expensive,” Clairman said. “We’re seeing that change over time.”
Both Kovach and Clairman say infrastructure is improving and costs are coming down, making EVs more accessible, but a lack of information remains a big barrier – especially in areas and among groups where EV adoption is low.
Clairman said people are even surprised to find test driving an EV a lot like a regular car: “They imagine it being something difficult or something really different.”
Tim Burrows, who has created a “Canada Talks Electric Cars” webinar series for the Electric Vehicle Society and is the contact for the group’s Mississauga chapter. He said it helps to talk to people you trust who drive EVs, but “it’s one of those things where you have to take a leap of faith.”
Both Kovach and Clairman noted that fossil fuel infrastructure and dominance have been built up over 100 years, and modern EVs only really hit the market about 15 years ago.
“EV adoption, you know, it’s got a few bumps in the road here or there,” Kovach said, “but I think we’re getting past those bumps and … keeping consumers informed and changing their misperceptions are really key to some of the growth that we have.”
