Manitoba accused of ‘wasting taxpayers' money’ with electric vehicle chargers

An advocacy group says the Manitoba government has spent nearly a third of a million dollars on electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the past two years, but hasn’t tracked if the chargers are actually being used.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) said a freedom of information request revealed the province spent $326,000 over the past two fiscal years – from April 2022 to March 2024 – to install EV chargers.

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“That might not sound like that big of an issue, but the problem is that the government didn’t do any follow-up,” Gage Haubrich, CTF’s prairie director told CTV News Thursday.

Haubrich said the CTF asked the province for usage data, but the group was told it didn’t exist. He called the expenditure a waste of government money.

“You know, any regular Manitoban would be fired from the job for [spending] $100,000 on a project and then failing to check up whether it worked or not,” Haubrich said.

Now, the federation is calling on the province to cancel the green technology program.

“When Manitobans send their thousands of dollars every year to Broadway, they expect it to be used in some sort of sensible way,” Haubrich explained. “When you see projects like this without even stopping to check what happened after they spent the money, that’s a real big negative sign.”

The CTF is also criticizing the province for spending $25 million on an Electric Vehicle Rebate Program. It offers a $4,000 incentive on new electric vehicle purchases and $2,500 on used EV purchases.

However, Haubrich said people buying electric vehicles aren’t “regular everyday Manitobans.”

He said data shows EVs only account for one per cent of vehicles in Manitoba and adds buyers take home around $100,000 each year – much higher than the $60,000 average income in the province.

“It’s kind of a big problem for the government to be wasting taxpayers’ money – paid for by taxpayers of all income levels – to help subsidize those who are more well off,” Haubrich said.

In an emailed statement, Environment and Climate Change Minister Tracy Schmidt said the province’s delivery partners track usage data on EV chargers once they are installed.

“Our government is working alongside partners to enhance EV charging infrastructure across the province, including rural and northern Manitoba, to support Manitobans who want to switch to EVs to save on fuel and protect the environment.”