Cutting the ribbon is the Hon. Glen Murray, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Cara Clairman, Plug ’n Drive’s President and CEO. Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power President and CEO is second from right.

A new attraction officially opened yesterday to educate the public about all aspects of Electric Vehicles (EVs), which will help decarbonize Ontario’s transportation sector in the coming decades.

From a May 18 media release, Plug ’n Drive’s Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre, which Bruce Power has supported with a $150,000 commitment over the next three years, offers visitors the opportunity to test drive EVs, learn more about how the evolving clean technology works and connects them with local dealers who specialize in EVs.

The EV Discovery Centre, located at 1126 Finch Ave. W., Unit 1 in North York, is a public-private partnership between Plug ’n Drive, the Ontario government and private business. The centre was borne from the Ontario government’s Climate Change Action Plan directive to increase educational opportunities around EVs, showing the public how EVs are quickly becoming a viable mode of transportation in our province, said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s President and CEO, who also sits on the Plug ’n Drive board of directors.

“By bringing together the business community and Plug ’n Drive, which does incredible work increasing awareness of Electric Vehicles, we are developing the future of this carbon-free source of transportation, which will have long-term benefits for the environment and the health of Ontarians,” Rencheck said. “Bruce Power is proud to have played a role in the EV Discovery Centre through our long-term relationship with Plug ’n Drive.”

Bruce Power and Plug ’n Drive have been working together since 2013, partnering on the installation of eight EV charging stations across the region, policy evaluation papers, holding awareness events and developing an interactive smartphone app, said Cara Clairman, Plug ’n Drive’s President and CEO.

“The Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre is a natural evolution of all the educational work Plug ’n Drive has done over the years,” Clairman said. “Our relationship with Bruce Power and other like-minded companies has allowed us to reach far more people than we thought possible back in 2013, and we are proud of our collaboration and what it has done to promote Ontario’s clean transportation future.”