EP 53 · 2023-05-08 · 56:37
EV Charging in Atlantic Canada: How Developers Get 50% Government Grants (Electric Avenue founder Mark McDonald)
Mark McDonald of Electric Avenue and Catalyst Sales & Marketing explains how to bootstrap an EV charging infrastructure business in Atlantic Canada using federal ZEVIP grants that cover 50% of costs.
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⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Sponsor block: Luminous Labs, Pizant Building Products, Procore — Pre-roll sponsor announcements for Luminous Labs (architectural viz), Pizant Building Products (7 NS locations since 1964), and Procore co-branded partnership.1:22Introductions and beach volleyball origin story — Host Dan welcomes Mark McDonald for his first podcast appearance. Mark shares his beach volleyball origin (Googled ‘best sport to meet women’ at age 30), the storming-normalization growth curve analogy, and his relentless personality trait.6:08Career path: Nortel to entrepreneurship — Mark describes falling in love with technology via MS-DOS, pursuing electronics engineering in Toronto, joining Nortel Networks during the dot-com bubble, being laid off within a year, returning to New Brunswick, and starting his first automation/networking company in 2003–2004.11:40Catalyst Sales & Marketing: how a rep agency works — Mark explains Catalyst’s model—signing manufacturer contracts to cover Atlantic Canada geographically for electrical products. The customer is electrical wholesalers (Rexel, Wesco, Eddy Group); electricians and developers are influencers. Highlights working with McKay Lyon Sweet Apple on Queen’s Marque interior lighting and observes Halifax’s rapid waterfront tower development pace.18:38Electric Avenue origin: sustainability mandate and ZEVIP grant discovery — Catalyst adopted ‘help others achieve environmental sustainability through electrification’ as its guiding mission 5–6 years ago. Got into solar (nearly 2 MW deployed in Atlantic Canada), then EV charging 4 years ago. Signed a deal with a Silicon Valley charger company they didn’t love, deployed 420 chargers for Killam Properties across Canada via ZEVIP (federal program paying 50% of costs), learned what not to do, then decided to manufacture their own hardware and software under the Electric Avenue brand.26:49EV charging 101: charger types, ROI, and multi-unit residential — Mark walks through Level 1 (useless), Level 2 (the standard for apartments), and DC fast chargers. 90% of EV charging happens at home; 31% of Canadians live in multi-unit housing. Killam deployed chargers at 2–5% of parking spots; less than 2% of Canadian vehicles are electric. Government goal is over-deploying infrastructure to shift consumer perception. Sub-two-year ROI payback case for apartment building owners. Load-sharing software: up to 6 chargers on one circuit, software splits power dynamically.35:20Retrofit vs. new build, and fleet/commercial/municipal deployments — Older buildings are often easier to retrofit because efficiency upgrades freed electrical capacity, and electrical rooms have more physical space than in modern builds. Engineers should size services for future EV load even if no charger is installed today. Inverness County deployed 14 Level 2 chargers at tourist areas using SIM-card-equipped units (no Wi-Fi needed). App, QR codes, and RFID card access explained.42:30ISO 15118 plug-and-charge standard and the app fragmentation problem — Current pain point: every charging network requires its own app. Electric Avenue chargers are built to ISO 15118, enabling ‘plug-and-charge’ where the vehicle authenticates automatically via the car’s built-in payment credential, eliminating separate apps. Tesla is the current benchmark for seamless infrastructure.46:15The case to developers: funding urgency and the 60-year building lifecycle — Vancouver already mandates EV readiness; Atlantic Canada lags. Developers at 99.9% occupancy don’t feel urgency yet, but a 40-year building is a 60-year asset. Funding (ZEVIP, EV Boost at 50%) is available now but may disappear when the market tips to early majority. Mark quotes buy-power-at-15-cents-sell-at-30-cents ROI model. Host draws radon rough-in analogy.53:10Call to action: free grant navigation help — Electric Avenue offers to help any developer navigate ZEVIP/EV Boost applications at no cost, even if they don’t buy Electric Avenue hardware. Mark frames it as an altruistic relationship-builder.55:22Outro and sponsor block: Cook Insurance, FCA Surety — Host wraps, post-roll sponsor reads for Cook Insurance and FCA Surety.
// THE INTRO
Episode 53 features Mark McDonald, co-founder of Electric Avenue and principal at Catalyst Sales & Marketing, a rep agency covering Atlantic Canada for electrical manufacturers. The conversation traces Mark’s path from Nortel Networks layoff to entrepreneurship, then dives deep into the EV charging market: why multi-unit residential is the priority deployment target, how ZEVIP and Clean Foundation EV Boost grants make the economics work at sub-two-year payback, why Level 2 chargers (not DC fast chargers) are optimal for parkades, how load-sharing software lets six chargers run on one circuit, and where Atlantic Canada sits relative to Vancouver’s mandatory EV-readiness legislation. Mark also explains the ISO 15118 “plug-and-charge” standard that will eliminate the multi-app fragmentation problem, and offers to help any developer navigate government grant applications at no charge. The episode is a rare, operator-level primer on EV charging infrastructure for the Atlantic Canadian construction and development community.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸Federal ZEVIP and EV Boost grants cover 50% of EV charging infrastructure costs including hardware, electrical labour, and engineering fees — making sub-two-year ROI achievable for apartment building owners.
“the programs pay for half everything to get these Chargers in your buildings”
Multi-unit residential is the highest-priority EV charging deployment target because 90% of EV charging happens at home, yet 31% of Canadians live in apartments and have no way to charge.
“90 somewhere close to 90 of the time you charge a electric you charge it at your destination”
Load-sharing software lets you put up to six Level 2 chargers on a single circuit, dramatically reducing electrical infrastructure cost for parkade deployments.
“we'll put up to six Chargers on one circuit and our software will load share them”
Older buildings are often easier to retrofit with EV charging than new builds because years of efficiency upgrades have freed electrical capacity and electrical rooms have more physical space.
“in many instances it's easier to retrofit chargers right now in older then a brand new building”
Developers should at minimum size their new-build electrical service and electrical room to be EV-ready, even if they don’t install chargers today — retrofitting the rough-in later costs far more.
“just size the service and size the electrical room accordingly you don't need to spend a hundred thousand dollar”
Government EV infrastructure grants are a timing opportunity: funding is generous now because adoption is pre-tipping-point; once the market reaches early majority, subsidies will dry up.
“the funding is available now it may not be because once this thing moves from early adopters to early majority”
Aligning a business around a sustainability mission (rather than product lines) enables pivots into adjacent markets — Catalyst moved from LED lighting to solar to EV charging by asking ‘does this check our electrification box?’
“we settled on we're just going to help others achieve environmental sustainability through electrification”
When a vendor’s hardware locks you into their software for life, that’s a signal to build your own — Catalyst’s frustration with their first EV charger supplier led them to found Electric Avenue.
“once you buy their Hardware you're locked into their software for Life... we said you know forget it let's do it ourselves”
Getting a product specification into an architect’s drawings early is the ‘holy grail’ for electrical product reps — relationship with the architect upstream beats any downstream sales push.
“the holy grail for anyone in my space if you can build those relationships find the right Solutions”
The E-Myth entrepreneur identity trap is real for technical founders: if you don’t deliberately schedule time away from technical tasks, you’ll keep falling back into them at the expense of the business.
“it's an identity thing almost... we've always worked with some great business coaches”
Selling EV charging to multi-res developers at 99.9% occupancy requires a 60-year building lifecycle argument, not just current ROI — the building being built today will need EV infrastructure well before it’s retired.
“you're dealing with a building that's a product that has a 60-year life cycle”
Over-deploying EV charging infrastructure (2–5% of parking spots) ahead of actual EV ownership shifts consumer perception and is the explicit goal of government grant programs.
“they want you to over deploy to make sure every tenant feels comfortable they can buy an electric vehicle”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
Electric Avenue Manufacturing Inc.
Halifax-based manufacturer of smart EV charging hardware and energy-management software, selling the W…
Catalyst Sales and Marketing
Independent electrical manufacturers' representative agency for Atlantic Canada, representing lighting…
Killam Apartment REIT
One of Canada's largest residential real estate investment trusts, owning, operating, managing and dev…
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
Federal ZEVIP and EV Boost grants cover 50% of EV charging infrastructure costs including hardware, electrical labour, and engineering fees.
NRCan ZEVIP documentation confirms 50% of Total Project Costs for standard applicants, up to $2M per project. EV Boost (Clean Foundation) confirmed minimum 50% coverage for eligible NS organizations. Claim is accurate.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Electric Avenue Manufacturing Inc. ▸Catalyst Sales and Marketing ▸Mark MacDonaldKillam Apartment REIT ▸Queen's MarqueZero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP)Clean Foundation
// PROJECTS NAMED
Queen's MarqueWest 22 (Halifax)177 (Halifax waterfront tower)Richmond Yards (Halifax)
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · H7FoywHr-BM