Data report · August 2026
Canada's EV Charging Deserts (2026)
Canada has 15,279 public charging stations, but only about 1 in 5 can fast-charge a car. This report maps where the fast-charging network still runs thin: the longest gaps on major highways, the provinces with the fewest fast ports per person, and the communities farthest from any fast charger at all.
Key findings
- The longest stretch on a major Canadian corridor without a fast-charging stop is 245 km, on the Trans-Canada through the Prairies. In winter, that gap exceeds the comfortable range of many EVs.
- 9 communities with public charging are still more than 100 km (straight-line) from the nearest fast charger; 47 are more than 50 km away. Inuvik, NT is the farthest at 541 km.
- Manitoba has the fewest fast ports per person of any province (9.9 per 100,000 people); British Columbia has the most (44.3), a 4.5x spread.
- Nunavut has no public charging stations at all in the national dataset.
- The good news: 73% of the 2,245 Canadian communities that have any public charging are within 10 km of a fast charger.
The longest gaps on major corridors
Longest stretch without a fast-charging stop within a 10 km detour of the route. Tap a corridor for the full stop-by-stop list.
- 1. Trans-Canada Prairies (Hwy 1)245 km gap
- 2. Highway 400 / 69140 km gap
- 3. Trans-Canada West (Hwy 1)113 km gap
- 4. Highway 40195 km gap
- 5. Coquihalla (Hwy 5)94 km gap
- 6. QEII: Calgary to Edmonton89 km gap
- 7. Maritimes Corridor72 km gap
- 8. Highway 417 / A-4064 km gap
- 9. Island Highway (Hwy 1/19)52 km gap
- 10. Sea-to-Sky (Hwy 99)44 km gap
- 11. Autoroute 2040 km gap
- 12. Autoroute 4034 km gap
Provinces ranked: fast ports per 100,000 people
DC fast-charging ports per 100,000 residents (Statistics Canada 2025 population estimates, rounded). Ultra = stations at 200 kW or more.
| Province / territory | Fast ports / 100k | Fast ports | Fast stations | Ultra (200 kW+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon | 46.8 | 22 | 21 | 0 |
| British Columbia | 44.3 | 2,525 | 639 | 120 |
| Quebec | 33 | 3,005 | 976 | 134 |
| Northwest Territories | 24.4 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| New Brunswick | 24.1 | 207 | 91 | 6 |
| Saskatchewan | 16.7 | 209 | 90 | 24 |
| Nova Scotia | 16.3 | 179 | 76 | 9 |
| Ontario | 16.1 | 2,589 | 783 | 150 |
| Prince Edward Island | 15 | 27 | 14 | 1 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 14 | 77 | 62 | 0 |
| Alberta | 11.2 | 561 | 213 | 54 |
| Manitoba | 9.9 | 149 | 82 | 11 |
Nunavut is absent from the table because the national dataset lists no public charging stations in the territory.
The 100 km club: communities farthest from a fast charger
Communities that already have public (Level 2) charging, ranked by straight-line distance to the nearest DC fast charger. Driving distances are longer.
- Inuvik, NT541 km
- Grand Rapids, MB293 km
- Gillam, MB207 km
- Île-à-la-Crosse, SK150 km
- Fort Chipewyan, AB149 km
- Ashern, MB117 km
- Val Marie, SK115 km
- Peerless Lake, AB111 km
- Gull Bay, ON105 km
km to nearest fast charger
About this report
Analysis by ChargerFinder.ca using our copy of Canada's public charging-station data (snapshot 2026-08-14), our highway-corridor analysis, and Statistics Canada population estimates. Distances between communities and chargers are straight-line. Figures are a point-in-time snapshot; the live directory updates daily. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite this report with a link; questions and data requests: contact@chargerfinder.ca.