Urban Current: Canada's $194M Bid to Rewire City Streets

Canada Infrastructure Bank's $194M loan to Jolt funds up to 1,500 curbside EV chargers nationwide, targeting underserved urban drivers

28 Feb 2025

Canada has no shortage of electric-vehicle ambitions. It has rather fewer places to charge one, particularly for the urban majority who lack a private garage. A new loan from Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to Jolt, a charging network operator, is an attempt to address that imbalance, though the method is unconventional enough to warrant scrutiny.

The loan, worth C$194m, will fund the installation of up to 1,500 curbside chargers in dense urban neighbourhoods across the country. The rollout is already under way. CIB chief executive Ehren Cory described the agreement as "a major step toward expanding urban EV access through patient capital and shared risk," language that reflects both the deal's ambition and the caution embedded in its structure.

The financial model is where things get interesting. Jolt plans to offset infrastructure costs partly through digital advertising screens mounted on the chargers, supplementing revenue from charging fees. Drivers receive up to 7 kWh of free fast charging daily; beyond that, standard rates apply. The arrangement is designed to improve unit economics in a sector where high upfront costs and slow early utilisation have repeatedly strained private investors.

Whether advertising screens will generate sufficient or stable income is less certain. Outdoor digital media markets are cyclical, and municipal rules on street-level signage vary considerably across Canadian cities. A network whose financial health depends partly on programmatic ad revenue carries a different risk profile from one that relies solely on energy sales.

The broader rationale, however, is harder to dismiss. Public charging infrastructure in dense urban areas remains thin relative to projected EV uptake. Government modelling anticipates millions of additional electric vehicles on Canadian roads by 2030, most of them in cities where curbside access will be essential. Closing that gap requires capital at a scale and patience that private markets have so far been reluctant to provide alone.

CIB's involvement signals a willingness to absorb some of that risk, effectively subsidising a model that might not yet stand without support. Whether Jolt's hybrid approach becomes a template for others, or a cautionary footnote about mixing infrastructure policy with advertising revenue, will depend on execution. The chargers are going in. The screens will follow. The question is what they end up selling.