Tim Hortons customers will soon be able to get charged up on more than just caffeine.
The coffee chain announced Wednesday that it plans to install fast electric vehicle (EV) chargers at 100 of its restaurants, with the first one already open to the public at a Regina location.
The company says it plans to have charging stations at multiple locations in all 10 provinces by the end of 2028. Quebec-based FLO has partnered with Tim Hortons to provide the EV chargers.
The rollout of the charging stations will include 13 more Tims locations by the end of this year, and an additional 50 by the end of 2026.
The company says this is expected to make Tim Hortons the largest restaurant provider of EV fast charging stations in Canada.
Each charging station will have an average of four charging ports for visitors to use, Tim Hortons says. The charging stations will be capable of powering up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) of range in 10 minutes. Travellers will be able to locate the nearest FLO charging stations using the company’s mobile app.
The partnership comes as Canada faces criticism for falling behind on efforts to build charging stations.
According to a report by researchers with the Montreal-based consultancy Dunsky Energy and Climate, there are a little more than 35,000 charging stations across the country right now. This is short of the 100,520 Canada needs to meet its policy goals for electric vehicles.
B.C., Ontario and Quebec are home to 88 per cent of Canada’s charging ports, according to the most recent data from Natural Resources Canada. Those provinces also accounted for 92 per cent of new EV sales last year.
With files from The Canadian Press
Correction
An earlier version of this story stated Tim Hortons would be the largest provider of EV fast charging stations in Canada. However, the story has been updated to reflect that Tim Hortons is expected to be the largest restaurant provider of EV fast charging stations in Canada.
