Assessment of Canada’s EV Charging Infrastructure and Grid Requirements

Natural Resources Canada is seeking proposals for a comprehensive assessment of Canada’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure and grid requirements, covering both light-duty and medium-heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles across all regions of the country. The study must analyze the impact of recent policy shifts from the Electric Vehicle Awareness Strategy to greenhouse gas standards, evolving market dynamics including ZEV sales and production, technological advancements, consumer behavior trends, and changes to incentive programs. It must also evaluate regional differences in infrastructure needs, account for extreme temperature sensitivities, and project grid readiness and investment requirements up to 2035. The contractor is required to deliver a series of milestones including a project kick-off with meeting minutes and presentation, a summary of interview outcomes with utilities and municipal stakeholders, bi-weekly progress updates, interim projections for charging and grid needs as they become available, a final technical report in Microsoft Word and PDF formats, and a live summary presentation to NRCan. All deliverables must adhere to strict formatting requirements, and intellectual property rights for all work product are transferred to His Majesty the King in Right of Canada. The contract is structured as a fixed-price arrangement with payment tied to deliverables, requiring invoices submitted as PDFs via email to a designated mailbox, accompanied by full contractual and financial details including the contract number, procurement business number, and financial codes. Invoices are only permissible upon full completion of the associated work and will be paid within 30 days if undisputed. The period of performance runs from the date of award until March 31, 2027, with mandatory deadlines for key outputs including interview summaries due by September 11, 2026, and the final report and presentation due by February 26 and March 31, 2027 respectively. Offers are evaluated using a weighted system where technical merit accounts for 60% and price for 40%, with failure to meet any mandatory technical criteria resulting in immediate disqualification. Contractors must comply with federal procurement regulations, maintain complete cost records subject to audit, and ensure all proposed personnel are qualified with at least two years of relevant experience. Insurance is the contractor’s responsibility, and any non-resident contractors are subject to a 15% withholding unless a CRA waiver is provided. All submissions must be organized into three distinct sections—technical, financial, and administrative forms—and must be signed by an authorized representative, with joint ventures required to designate a point of contact. The contract is subject to strict confidentiality, copyright, and ethics standards, including adherence to the