Transport Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, on behalf of Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), today announced two new calls for proposals and availability of funding for trucking fleets through the new Green Freight Program and the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Awareness Initiative, with the aim of encouraging fleets to increase uptake in emissions reductions technologies while further reducing costs and their carbon footprint.
Calls for proposals for both programs will be open to applicants on NRCAN’s website on December 12, 2022.
A recurring ask by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), which was previously announced under the 2022 federal budget, the revised Green Freight Program will invest nearly $200 million into the trucking sector by providing funding for retrofits, including rebates for aerodynamic devices and other technologies to reduce fuel consumption from trucks already on the road. The program will also support assessments and retrofits of more vehicles and a greater diversity of fleet and vehicle types.
The newly announced ZEV Awareness Initiative will help address some of the barriers to adoption of emerging emissions reductions technologies for fleets, including a lack of hands-on experience or confidence with some of these technologies. The federal government will be providing funding for outreach, education, and capacity building projects that will ultimately help create greater industry-wide education to increase uptake of medium and heavy duty zero and low-emission vehicles across the industry.
Governments, non-profits, and other organizations could receive up to $300,000 per project, and industry led projects could receive up to $200,000 under this new initiative.
CTA is reminding members that trucking operators can still take advantage of the previously announced incentives for medium-and heavy-duty zero-emission program (iMHZEV) through Transport Canada, which will provide approximately 50% of the cost difference between traditional diesel vehicle and a zero-emission alternative.
CTA will be working with Government of Canada officials on the final details of both programs, with the Alliance releasing further details to members in the coming days.