Municipal Electric Vehicles

Torbay is a coastal, semi-rural community on the Northeast Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). With a population of 7,852 (2021 census), Torbay is the 10th largest municipality in the province. Adjacent to the capital City of St. John's, Torbay is considered part of the most populous census metropolitan area in NL.

The Town of Torbay is committed to taking action on climate change. In 2019-20, the Town participated in FCM’s Transition 2050 program as part of a cohort of municipalities. Town staff received climate change training, the first corporate greenhouse gas emission inventories were completed, and the Town’s Climate Change Mitigation Plan was developed through a series of workshops.

The Climate Change Mitigation Plan defined overall emission reduction targets for the Town and identified that reducing municipal fleet emissions is an important part of meeting these goals. At the same time, the Town is focused on making fiscally responsible decisions and must continue to maintain and improve levels of service for the growing population.

This study, funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, is an important step that aims to bring all these pieces together - to assess the risks and benefits of fleet electrification, and determine whether alignment with the emission reduction goals can be reached in a way that makes financial and logistical sense.