Only On The Walters Post

You know, I’ve been saying for years on my blog that electric vehicles just aren’t the best fit for northern Ontario. And lately, it seems like the news is starting to catch up to what a lot of us have been thinking all along.

First off, cold weather and EV batteries don’t get along. Studies show that when the temperature drops between 20°F and 5°F (-7°C to -15°C), electric vehicles can lose up to 40% of their driving range. That’s a big problem when you’re out here where the roads are long and the towns are far apart.

And then there’s the matter of charging. Northern Ontario still doesn’t have enough charging stations. Sure, they’re putting a few in here and there, but when you’re hundreds of kilometers from the next town, “a few” doesn’t mean much.

Battery life is another issue folks don’t always think about. On average, EV batteries lose around 2–3% of their capacity every year, and the cold only makes it worse. After a while, you’re not getting anywhere near the range you had when the car was new.

And what happens when those batteries wear out? Recycling programs exist, but the system isn’t ready. Without proper handling, those old batteries could end up in landfills, and that’s not helping the environment any more than exhaust pipes do.

Now, I’m not saying electric cars don’t have a place. Down in southern Ontario, where it’s warmer and charging stations are easier to find, maybe they make sense. But up here, it’s a whole different story. The cold, the distances, the lack of infrastructure, it all adds up to a tough sell.

So maybe instead of trying to rebuild everything from scratch, we should fix what we already have. Canada’s sitting on an abundance of oil and gas, and we already have the systems in place to use it. If we worked harder at making that cleaner and more efficient, we’d be a lot further ahead.

I just call it the way I see it. Out here, we look at what works, not what sounds good in some fancy office down south.

Until the next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW