Using An EV To Import Tariff-Free Canadian Electricity Is A Bad Idea But It’s Theoretically Totally Possible

When the next generation of kids grows up enough to learn a thing or two about governance, the date March 4, 2025 could come up in their history classes. It’s the day the White House stated it would go ahead with previously delayed plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from America’s biggest, geographically closest trading partners. Welcome to a trade war with the neighbours. This all has the potential to get ugly, with everything from cars to electricity potentially impacted. But that gives me a wacky idea.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Canada has threatened a separate 25 percent export tax on electricity, potentially even shutting off the taps to states like New York, Michigan, and Minnesota in April if more tariffs hit Canadian goods. Like many Canadians, I have a lot of love for New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. Despot is the greatest rapper to never drop an album. Woodward Ave is nothing short of iconic. Minnesota gave the world Prince. But dammit, if a trade war’s coming, we aren’t rolling over.

Of course, we also aren’t naive. There is a way Americans could theoretically smuggle tariff-free electricity from across the Canadian border if they own an electric vehicle. It’s not advisable and its legality is questionable, but it may be technically possible. Think of it as the reverse of Canadians filling up their tanks in America due to cheaper gas prices south of the border, just with an actual loophole to exploit.

Let’s say this theoretical tariff-dodger lives in Buffalo or Detroit. They could theoretically drive across the border to Port Colborne or Windsor and search for a free Level 2 charger. Will it be as fast as a DC fast charger? Absolutely not, but it can get the job done over time. In the meantime, this hypothetical driver could walk around, put a bit of money into the Canadian economy, eat some good food, and see the sights.

From there, it’s simply a matter of driving back across the border, declaring $0 in goods because this theoretical driver used a free public charger and didn’t pay a dime for the electricity, and getting a few dozen kilowatt-hours across the border for basically the price of a bridge or tunnel toll.

Granted, to maximize how far this tariff-dodging electricity goes, our theoretical driver would need an electric car with vehicle-to-load or vehicle-to-home capability. Think F-150 Lightning, Kia EV9, or Chevrolet Silverado EV — something with a large enough battery pack and the right software to power a home for days, provided electricity is rationed wisely.

With the right equipment, our theoretical driver could use their foraged electricity to run their refrigerator, their lights, maybe even a few other appliances. Mind you, proper vehicle-to-home equipment can cost thousands of dollars. The Wallbox Quasar 2 system for the Kia EV9 stickers for $6,440 and GM’s “essential” vehicle-to-home bundle costs $7,299, for example.

Given that free public charging stations also exist in America, smuggling electricity across the northern border wouldn’t put you ahead, at least not currently. It’s a long trip out of the way for savings of approximately $0, and the economics of the plan just don’t work out great unless electricity prices spike in the U.S. to the point where free Level 2 charging stations just don’t exist anymore.

Even charging at home, the gulf is significant. If we use the Windsor-Detroit tunnel as an example, it costs $8.25 to go from Detroit to Windsor, and another $7.25 Canadian to go from Windsor back to Detroit. At current conversion rates, that works out to a total of $13.25 just in toll costs, and that’s before we account for electricity used for travel.

Assuming a mid-peak Ontario electricity price of 12.2 Canadian cents per kWh, U.S. electricity rates would have to spike beyond $0.185 per kWh for the trip to make sense, assuming literally zero public charging station markup. It’s common to find public Level 2 stations charging $2 Canadian per hour, and assuming you’re charging at 9.6 kW, that works out to almost 21 Canadian cents per kWh, or about 14 U.S. cents per kWh. Apply that 14.75 percent markup, and local U.S. rates would have to spike beyond 21.3 cents per kWh to break even on the trip, if a paid public charger is used.

If a free public charger is used, well, the trip might actually be worth it provided you’re close enough and you have a large enough battery pack. If you pump 100 kWh into the long-range pack on an F-150 Lightning for just the cost of tolls, the effective rate works out to 13.25 cents per kWh. Anyway, if you do own an electric car, live close to the Canadian border, and want to give a big up-yours to the trade war, take a trip to Canada, juice up at the handful of free charging stations we have, and dine on our food. Not only will you be getting some pretty clean energy, you’ll get a little adventure out of it, too.

Top graphic image: Ford

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