Item - 2026.IE28.3

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that: 

1. City Council adopt the three‑year public electric vehicle charging funding and implementation plan outlined in the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, as the framework to achieve the City’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Program goals and objectives.

2. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, in consultation with the President, Toronto Parking Authority, to report back on the status of the City’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Program’s goals and objectives annually, during the term of the Collaboration Agreement as further described in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry.
 

3. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services, in consultation with the President, Toronto Parking Authority to negotiate, enter into, and execute the Collaboration Agreement between the Proponent, City of Toronto and Toronto Parking Authority for the purpose of establishing a multi-year Toronto-wide Public Electric Vehicle Charging Program, subject to the major negotiated terms outlined in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and on such other terms and conditions as may be acceptable to the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

4. City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services or their designate, in consultation with the President, Toronto Parking Authority, throughout the Term of the Collaboration Agreement as further described in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to negotiate, enter into, and execute non-procurement agreements related or ancillary to the Collaboration Agreement and that are necessary to support the delivery of the Public Electric Vehicle Charging Program described in this report, with each non-procurement agreement being on terms and conditions acceptable to the Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services, and each being in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

5. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, remain confidential in its entirety in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as it involves a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiation carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City.  

6. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to include in the annual report described in Recommendation 2 an assessment of opportunities to use bidirectional Electric Vehicle charging to meet Toronto's peak electrical demand and to reduce the cost of electricity for Torontonians.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to submit a supplementary report to the April 22, 23 and 24 City Council meeting specifying the quantitative and qualitative goals and objectives of the City’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Program.

2. Requested the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, in consultation with the Toronto Parking Authority, to report directly to the April 22, 23 and 24, 2026 meeting of City Council with the following supplemental information:

a. Upgraded charts in Attachments 1 and 2 to the report (April 2, 2026) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to show the revenue costs for charging and the installation costs and to report Green P (Toronto Parking Authority) lots and street parking in the same fashion on both charts;

b. The market surveys that support the demonstrated Electric Vehicle uptake as well as results and from surveys that show desire to purchase Electric Vehicles and any reasons that residents give for not buying;

c. Documentation regarding access to charging as factor as to whether or not to purchase and Electric Vehicle in areas with and without garages and suitable driveways; 

d. Options to deal with extremely low utilization rates at Green P (Toronto Parking Authority) lots, including downsizing the number of stations that would free up revenue producing spots at the busiest lots and / or adding faster charging stations at popular locations;

e. The factors that led to the decision to install only 109 street ports, both permit parking and Green P (Toronto Parking Authority), and include all difficulties experienced with Toronto Hydro and all issues related to cost of installation by Toronto Parking Authority and Transportation;

f. Level of oversight by the funder on the implementation of the Toronto Parking Authority Electric Vehicle plan and advice to the former Toronto Parking Authority Board on its oversight role;

g. The inclusion of between 100 and 200 new street installations in permit parking areas for 2026-29; and,

h. All annual revenues from Permit parking areas including sale of permits, and fines, and the amount that has been raised for Electric Vehicle installation by the dedicated increase to permit parking fees to accommodate Electric Vehicle installation.

This report provides an initial three‑year implementation and funding plan to expand equitable access to public Electric Vehicle charging to residents and workers in the City of Toronto, leveraging a delivery model for City-owned property that is focused on prioritizing Canadian suppliers, along with complimentary initiatives that aim to remove barriers to the development of charging infrastructure on non-City owned lands. 

A commercial agreement between the City of Toronto, the Toronto Parking Authority, and a Proponent (the “Collaboration Agreement”) is proposed as the most effective mechanism to finance and deliver at‑scale public Electric Vehicle charging on City‑owned properties. The Collaboration Agreement enables accelerated deployment through an experienced Canadian partner, while significantly reducing long-term operational risks and financial risks to the City by leveraging the partner’s capital rather than requiring major upfront municipal investment. During the initial three-year phase of the Collaboration Agreement, the Proponent's investment in the City's Electric Vehicle Charging Program ("the Program") is estimated to be $35.8 million.

The City’s initial three-year plan, supported through the proposed Collaboration Agreement, with major negotiated terms outlined in Confidential Attachment 1, aims to address the need for accessible public Electric Vehicle charging, and is aligned with Council direction, including the Key Negotiating Principles adopted by Council in IE23.8 – Approach to Public Electric Vehicle Charging Delivery Model, existing City strategies, and the City’s Strategic Planning Framework. Additionally, the plan was informed by initial demand and utilization modeling to estimate energy demand from the bottom up by incorporating local community, visitor, commercial (including vehicle-for-hire), and corridor-based requirements, complemented by external initiatives such as The Atmospheric Fund’s work on non-City private and public properties.

To date the siting of the City's existing network of Electric Vehicle chargers was focused exclusively on locations operated by the Toronto Parking Authority, including their off-street parking lots and Pay and Display parking spaces. Building on the Council direction in IE16.5, going forward the approach to determining locations will take a more holistic view of opportunities to leverage City real estate and assets where they can support the greatest uptake of charging, including on-street permit parking spaces and other city owned parking lots, where appropriate and aligned with broader city objectives. Decisions will be based on demonstrated need and access, and Council-approved policy directions, rather than discretionary or ad hoc considerations. 

To address any gaps in service, the following City-owned properties are being considered as possible charging locations:

- On-street, residential paid permit parking;

- Toronto Parking Authority on-street, pay-and-display locations;

- Corporate locations with public parking access; and

- Toronto Parking Authority off-street Car Park locations.

The three‑year plan will advance Electric Vehicle charger network growth in areas with demonstrated Electric Vehicle uptake while ensuring equity‑focused investments where private‑market delivery is unlikely. Implementation will follow a dual‑track approach:

- Commercially financed deployments under the Collaboration Agreement, and

- City‑led, data‑driven investments to address system gaps and priority use‑cases.

Attachment 1 includes utilization data related to both Toronto Parking Authority on-street and off-street locations, illustrating the need to refine modelling efforts to increase usage, and highlighting the benefit of the Proponent's investments in outreach and education that will assist in enabling broader Electric Vehicle adoption. Attachment 2 details the proposed siting and deployment process, along with the City inputs that will factor into future demand and utilization modeling to ensure public access is clearly factored into decision making when determining site locations.  

The negotiated terms of the proposed Collaboration Agreement provides strong protections for residents and Electric Vehicle users by ensuring transparent pricing for Electric Vehicle charging, based around the cost of electricity, that does not employ surge‑style or dynamic peak‑pricing practices.

In addition, the Collaboration Agreement embeds clear procurement and supply‑chain controls that require the Proponent’s compliance with Canadian trade obligations, including Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and other relevant agreements. These controls ensure a fair, competitive process among qualified Canadian and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement‑compliant suppliers and vendors, prioritizing local economic participation, and support high‑quality, standards‑aligned infrastructure delivery.

Together, these customer‑focused safeguards aim to protect the City’s interest in providing equitable access to public Electric Vehicle charging, while mitigating investment risks and maintaining alignment with TransformTO, Sidewalks to Skylines (2025–2035), and the City’s Carbon Accountability Framework.

This approach is timely; there is a renewed focus on improving the domestic supply chain and promoting Electric Vehicle adoption as a result of recent federal announcements, and recent oil price volatility is expected to lead to accelerated Electric Vehicle adoption from 2026-2029. The federal government has earmarked $1.5 billion in investment for Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure, provided through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Additionally, recently updated standards as part of a broader national automotive strategy are anticipated to drive up Electric Vehicle adoption and the need for Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure for urban households who rely on public chargers, Electric Vehicle drivers in condos, and commercial fleets that benefit from fast charging options. This Collaboration Agreement positions the City to proactively and successfully ensure the required infrastructure is put in place to meet anticipated needs.

Capital costs, operational complexity, and lifecycle maintenance requirements for at‑scale public Electric Vehicle charging present material challenges for the City. Consistent with Council direction, an alternative delivery approach is proposed through a collaboration agreement with a Proponent. This approach will leverage significant capital and operating investments from an experienced partner, where the City will continue to realize a financial benefit, while maintaining the flexibility to  pursue policy objectives through targeted investments of City capital in areas that are less commercially attractive, but present important opportunities for the City to provide equitable access to Electric Vehicle charging in consideration of the development plans of other charging service providers.

The 2026 Capital Budget for the Toronto Parking Authority includes $2.465 million in cash flow commitments for City‑led targeted investments in Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure to address gaps in service and priority use‑cases. 

The Toronto Parking Authority’s 2026 Base Operating Budget includes $1.226 million for the support of
City’s public charging program.

Within the approved 2026 capital and operating allocation, funding will also support:

- Contingency for locations that are outside the Collaboration Agreement’s commercial parameters but prioritized under Council‑approved siting principles, and supported by data from ongoing modelling efforts;

- Resources to sustain the program’s governance, planning, siting, deployment and performance management functions; an

- Delivery of five (5) on-street locations approved for deployment in 2026.

The initial three‑year public Electric Vehicle charging funding and implementation plan outlined in this report covers the deployment period between 2027-2029. The City's capital investment is limited to the total amount of $19.267 million in cash flow commitments for Electric Vehicle charging projects included in Toronto Parking Authority’s 2027-2029 Capital Plan as presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1 - City's capital investment commitments in the three-year Public Electric Vehicle charging funding and implementation plan 2027-2029 (in $ million)

This investment enables to appropriately resource the program and complement the capital investment provided by the Proponent for sites that may not be commercially viable, but are determined to be consistent with the guiding principles adopted by Council in 2024-IE.16.5 - Approach to Public Electric Vehicle Charging to 2030 (in accordance with the terms of the Collaboration Agreement outlined in Confidential Attachment 1.

The Proponent is responsible for all operating expenses during the three-year period. The Proponent’s three‑year operating investment commitment of $9.71 million - $0.921 million in Year 1, $2.694 million in Year 2, and $6.095 million in Year 3 - covers all costs required to maintain a reliable and accessible charging network. This includes network operations, maintenance and repairs, and energy/utility expenses as defined in the City framework. Electricity costs, including projected rate increases and applicable demand charges, have been incorporated conservatively into the model.

Any incremental financial implications beyond 2027-2029 and associated with the decision to be made on the monetary sharing options or in the event of loss of exclusivity and/or termination and/or end of site license will be brought forward in annual update report and/or through future budget processes for consideration.

Additional financial implications are provided in the Financial Impact section of Confidential Attachment 1.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry recommends that: 

1. Infrastructure and Environment Committee receive this report for information.

The purpose of this report is to advise that Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry will be submitting a report that provides an update on the approach to public electric vehicle charging three-year plan to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on April 7, 2026.