Canada's fast-charging network grows 4.2 percent – but ultra-fast chargers remain rare
From July to September, 391 fast-charging ports were added. Only 2 percent of the new ones deliver 400 kilowatts or more – in the U.S. the figure is 31 percent.
Symbolic image · Photo: Bouchecl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Canada's fast-charging network for electric cars is growing more slowly. In the third quarter of 2026, 391 fast-charging ports were added, after 402 in the second quarter and 565 in the first, according to the quarterly report by analytics company Paren. There are now 9,615 fast-charging ports in total – 4.2 percent more than in the previous quarter and 26.8 percent more than a year earlier. Tesla's share fell from 36 to 32.1 percent within a year.
On charging power, Canada lags well behind the U.S.: only 33 percent of new ports deliver 250 kilowatts or more (U.S.: 73 percent), and just 2 percent reach 400 kilowatts or more (U.S.: 31 percent). The most common were chargers rated at 150 to 249 kilowatts, accounting for 42 percent of new additions.
Utilization rose to 10.7 percent, highest in British Columbia at 13.1 percent. Around 20 percent is considered necessary for profitable operation – no province reaches that mark. "We are still far from the 20% threshold that the industry needs to be financially healthy," said Daniel Breton, president and CEO of the association Electric Mobility Canada. The average price fell to 0.486 Canadian dollars per kilowatt-hour.