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When Judy Goodwin wanted to test drive an electric car, she didn’t head to a dealership. Instead, she went to a non-profit facility in north Toronto called Plug’n Drive.
“They’re hard to come by,” she said of electric vehicles (EVs). “My sister tried to buy one and she couldn’t find one that was available.”
Not only does Plug’n Drive have a showroom where people can test drive zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), its staff are also trained ambassadors who will answer questions about how to charge the vehicles, their range and their costs.
“We have found that over and over again, just that experience of trying it is what convinces people,” said Cara Clairman, the CEO of Plug’n Drive, which seeks to accelerate the adoption of EVs in Canada.
A customer looks over a Ford Fusion parked at a lot in Colma, Calif., in this 2011 file photo. According to a 2020 study commissioned by Transport Canada, nearly two-thirds of dealerships in Canada do not have a single electric vehicle available to purchase or test drive. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
Whether driven by high gas prices or a sense of climate change-fuelled urgency, more Canadians are thinking about making the switch to electric vehicles (EVs). According to a recent survey by KPMG, nearly 70 per cent of Canadians planning to buy a new vehicle in the next five years are likely to buy electric.
But at the same time, electric cars made up just under four per cent of all vehicle sales last year — even as Canada set a mandatory target for all new cars and light-duty trucks sold in the country to be zero emissions by 2035.
To meet that goal, advocates say much more needs to be done.
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Tackle the supply problems
Nearly two-thirds of dealerships in Canada do not have a single electric vehicle available to purchase or test drive, according to a 2020 study commissioned by Transport Canada.
Boosting supply is essential to revving up electric car adoption by Canadians, said Merran Smith, executive director of Clean Energy Canada, a program housed at Simon Fraser University.
“They don’t want to buy sight-unseen new technology, and they don’t want to put their name on a list and wait for six or 12 months to get a car. When you need a car, you need it now.”
Smith said the federal government needs a strong, national mandate around zero-emissions vehicles, requiring the country’s car dealerships “to have the cars and to sell a certain percentage of [electric] cars.”
Affordability is another key issue
While prices for zero-emission vehicles are falling, they remain more expensive than their gas counterparts — as much as $20,000 more, according to a recent TD report. The cheapest EV on the market, the 2022 Nissan LEAF, comes with a price tag of $37,498 before discounts.
More affordable electric vehicles, like the Nissan Leaf, are designed to entice entry-level buyers. (The Associated Press)
The federal government offers a rebate of up to $5,000. Smith said those incentives should continue until there is cost parity between electric and gas-powered cars, and they should also be targeted to low-income families.
“They often are the ones that can’t quite afford that extra $5,000 or $10,000 that it’s going to take to get the EV. But they’re the ones that are going to benefit from the savings,” she said.
Meanwhile, provincial rebate programs vary widely. Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nunavut currently don’t offer incentives to purchase new zero-emission vehicles, but the other provinces and territories have strong programs.
Another roadblock to adoption is the availability of infrastructure for charging electric cars, whether the driver is going on a road trip or lives in a crowded urban centre. According to Natural Resources Canada, there are over 6,000 publicly available charging stations across Canada, but some 12,000 gas stations.
During the recent federal election, the Liberals campaigned on a platform that included spending an additional $700 million to create 50,000 new electric- and hydrogen-charging stations. If the government makes good on that promise, it would give Canada’s infrastructure a big boost.
Advocates say one roadblock to the wider adoption of electric vehicles is the availability of charging infrastructure. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)
Companies are also tackling the infrastructure issue. General Motors recently announced plans to install 4,000 charging stations in Canada as part of its plan to invest more heavily in electric vehicles.
“We’ve got Canadian companies champing at the bit,” said Smith. “We’re going to see more and more of this in the energy transition; new jobs, new opportunities for businesses as we shift off of fossil fuels onto an electric system.”
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
