Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca (left) is introduced by a representative of Ikea at the announcement of all 250-plus locations of the Electric Vehicle Chargers Ontario network, while joined by federal minister of the Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray, and local Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Peter Milczyn.

Many McDonald's and Tim Horton's locations across the province will become fueling stations for electric vehicle owners and their cars in the next few months, after details were announced today of where the Ontario government plans to install almost 500 EV charging stations at over 250 locations across the province.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced a map showing the upcoming locations of all the stations is now live, with an extensive network that will consist of nearly 300 Level 2 stations, which can be used by every vehicle with plug-in capability, as well as almost 200 of the much pricier Level 3 chargers that will help buyers of battery electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and upcoming Chevrolet Bolt drive longer distances away from their home, and recharge their batteries fully in less than half an hour, said Del Duca.

"This will address the 'range anxiety' that's a common concern among consumers regarding the distance electric vehicles can travel compared to traditional vehicles," said Del Duca, noting that for years there were only three of these Level 3 chargers available in the province, all of them in the greater Toronto area. These L3s, as they're called by EV owners, can fully recharge a quick charger-equipped vehicle like the Nissan Leaf in roughly 20 minutes, allowing drivers to make quick pit stops while re-fueling their vehicle, and making longer drives not only possible in a reasonable time frame, but also far more comfortable and flexible with fast-charging options.

Upcoming vehicles like the Chevrolet Bolt will also be able to use this quick-charging capability, even though it and many other cars use a different CCS quick-charging standard than the Leaf's CHAdeMO standard, since the government mandated that all the quick chargers be able to handle both types of fast-charging systems.

No details are available yet on exactly when all the pending stations will be open and available to the public, but the first units are expected to be unveiled within days or weeks, while all partners have agreed to have them installed by March 31, 2017. With the province covering the costs of installation, each location partner will be able to set their own rates, whether a flat fee per charge, by time, or even by kilowatt-hour.

Many stations are expected to provide charging for free, at least for some introductory period or permanently to encourage EV owners to stop by, while Del Duca noted that the typical rates in other jurisdictions range from $5 to $10 per charge.

One notable exception to the list of 250 charging locations are Ontario's wide network of ONroute highway service stations, which were mentioned specifically as ideal charging station locations when the province's comprehensive Climate Change Action Plan, but weren't part of this announcement, Del Duca confirmed.

If all 259 locations are completed and running by the March 31, 2017 deadline, Ontario will have one of the most extensive EV charging networks in North America, and behind only Quebec in Canada, where the vast majority of plug-in vehicles are currently sold.

Ontario obviously hopes to increase its plug-in sales, and will institute many other measures towards this goal:

-          Working with the federal government to reduce/eliminate HST on new or used EV purchases.

-          Has increased the maximum plug-in rebate amount from $8,500 to $14,000, one of the most generous financial EV rebates in the world.

-          A cash for clunkers program that will encourage consumers to trade in higher-polluting older models for discounts on new or used electric vehicles.

-          Free overnight charging for electric vehicles within the next two years, to 2020.

Here's the full release from the province detailing today's announcement, as well as a list of all 259 committed locations.

List of chargers