Electric vehicle owners who are used to taking a break and grabbing a bite at Tim Hortons restaurants across the country will soon have another option on the menu: the ability to charge their vehicle while they eat.
The fast-food chain, in partnership with Quebec-based charging station manufacturer Flo, plans to install some 400 chargers at 100 locations across the country by the end of 2028. Chargers will be installed in all 10 provinces. The first ones have already been installed and are operational in Regina, Saskatchewan.
For the rollout of the other chargers, work will be completed at 13 more restaurants by the end of this year and at 50 by the end of 2026. Each participating restaurant will have an average of four charging stations for customer use.
Hope Bagozzi, Chief Marketing Officer at Tim Hortons, said in a statement that the deployment of approximately 400 chargers will make the company “the largest restaurant provider of EV fast charging in Canada.”
The chargers being installed are Flo Ultra models, capable of providing up to 120 km (75 miles) of range in just 10 minutes.
“This partnership with Tim Hortons marks a pivotal moment in making EV charging a seamless part of everyday life for Canadians. By investing ourselves in the installation of FLO Ultra chargers at trusted, well-visited locations, we are accelerating our strategic focus as an Own and Operate charging network operator and delivering the reliable infrastructure EV drivers need to confidently embrace their transition to electric mobility,” said Louis Tremblay, CEO of Flo.
As reported by Automotive News, these new installations are part of the partnership between Flo and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, which has committed $235 million to Flo to enable the commissioning of more than 1,900 public fast-charging stations across Canada.
Growing need for chargers
Though progress has been made on this front, Canada needs a greater number of fast-charging stations. It’s estimated that to meet its EV sales targets, Canada needs 100,520 chargers. According to the analytics firm Dunsky Energy + Climate, there are currently just over 35,000 fast chargers in operation across the provinces and territories.
The shortage of charging infrastructure in Canada has long been a concern for automakers, who are mandated by the federal government to increase EV sales.
Brian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, which represents the interests of the three Detroit automakers in Canada, has stated that the funding and number of charging stations are insufficient.
Earlier this year, he acknowledged that there is “a large and growing deficit in public charging infrastructure in Canada, which requires the installation of 40,000 chargers annually to be filled.”
As voices across the auto industry call for an easing of the current rules regarding the ban on gasoline vehicle sales in Canada, set for 2035, many will be watching to see how fast the EV charging network can be expanded.