Town of Huntsville to begin pilot project for transition to electric fleet vehicles

The municipality will start with 3 electric vehicles

Huntsville General Committee agreed to begin the pilot project for the transition to electric fleet vehicles, in the September 24, 2025, meeting.

Staff indicated that the project is in line with the Town’s commitment “in principle” to the Corporate Green House Emissions (GHG) initiative to achieve a net zero emissions by 2050 and given that 37% of GHGs are from corporate fleet.

They added that a loan and grant funding is available from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities EV Fleet Program to cover a portion of costs, with grant funding covering 15% of the loan.

They confirmed that the transition will not include a transfer of all fleet at this time. They will begin with 3 vehicles, with one from each department. They’re also only considering using light duty vehicles at this point, such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and smaller passenger vehicles.

Level 2 charging stations will also be installed on municipal property, said staff. These stations will allow for 8 hours or overnight charging.

Staff added that the cost for the Town to do the installation themselves would be a few thousand dollars, and the only other costs would be paying for electricity at approximately 20 cents per kilowatts.

They continued, “Even a fast charger is still significantly cheaper than gas.”

The goal for the pilot is to track operational aspects and see how it works regarding challenges, and to monitor environmental and financial impacts of changing from fossil fuel to EVs.

Mayor, Nancy Alcock, indicated that the District of Muskoka already began the same program about a year ago with a few of their vehicles, and so far, “it’s working well.”

She added, said that during conversations with the District Chair she learned “it’s been very successful, especially in the winter.”

Councillor, Cory Clarke, expressed concern about the transition even given that it’s a pilot and the grant opportunity because EVs are impacted by up to 50% by things like towing and heavy loads, “looking at potentially a limited use for those vehicles.”

Next steps upon moving forward with the grant application will include staff will returning with a detailed plan for infrastructure installation and other information.