The transition from gas to electric vehicles is often slow in areas like Prince George. However, one program aims to change that.
Charge North has created a charging station network capable of 1 million kilometres of emissions-free travel, the equivalent of driving around Canada more than 120 times.
The program was initiated by the Community Energy Association with help from six Northern and Interior regional districts along with more than 40 local governments and First Nations communities.
This includes funding from the Northern Development Initiative Trust, the Province of BC, the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The program aims to install a network of EV charging stations throughout central and northern BC to reduce emissions and improve access to electric vehicles.
So far from 2022–2024, the program has installed 60 charging stations all across the north, with the focus being on rural communities that have little to no access to places to charge electric vehicles.
The program has connected 2,800 km of highways from Logan Lake to Fort Nelson and from Haida Gwaii to the Robson Valley, allowing electric vehicles to travel where it was previously highly impractical or even impossible.
Locally, the Prince George Public Library has been declared the most popular Charge North station, which has been used more than 2,600 times.
The Charge North program comes as EV adoption is on the rise, with the number of EV vehicles being purchased up 30 per cent in BC's north. Overall, BC has seen 117,000 electric passenger vehicles purchased in 2023, amounting to 4.3 per cent of all vehicles in the province.
