U.S., Canada announce Electric Vehicle Corridor from Kalamazoo to Quebec City

DETROIT (FOX 2) - In a unique partnership between the United States and Canada, a massive project between the two nations will build an extensive network of electric charging stations spanning more than 850 miles.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and IBEW Member William Baisden to announce the first Binational Electric Vehicle (EV) Corridor, which will stretch from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Quebec City, Canada.

"As we all know, there is nothing more pure Michigan than accidentally driving into Canada," Whitmer said. 

The corridor will feature fast chargers every 50 miles – or every 80 KM in Canada – as the two nations work to build a stronger network of EV charging standards.

The unique project was announced at the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's investment to clean energy. Michigan is receiving $110 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which will include $7.5 billion in federal funding to build a national network of half a million public EV charging stations.

"About $148 billion in cross-border trade came through Detroit in the past year alone. And about a third of that was related to the automotive sector," Buttigieg said. "This transition isn't going to happen overnight, but it's happening quickly. And what I want people to know is that electric vehicles offer an opportunity to capture savings from, of course, fuel savings directly, but also maintenance savings."

As for Canada, one in ten new cars is already a zero-emission vehicle, making the project even more necessary.