Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance - Green Communities Canada

Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance

Canada’s First Electric School Bus Report Card

  • Report finds most provinces are failing the transition away from diesel, burdening Canadians with increased economic, health, and environmental risks.
  • P.E.I. ranks first, Quebec second, while Ontario and Alberta receive failing grades, despite having the country’s largest fleets.
  • $250 million per year in new federal funding is critical to maintain momentum.
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Infographic titled Canada's Electric School Bus Provincial Report card showing key indicators by province for progress towards electrifying school buses.

Why electric school buses?

The iconic yellow school buses that have been transporting children to school for nearly a century have generally been powered by fossil fuels. These buses are a significant part of Canada’s transport sector, which overall contributes 25 per cent of Canada’s total fossil fuel emissions. The  school buses that put our children on the road to academic success should not also diminish their chances at a bright and clean future because of air and noise pollution.

CESBA develops strategies and recommendations that accelerate the electrification of school buses across Canada. Our goal: for Canada’s existing 52,000 school buses to be zero emission by 2040.

Kids guided out of a school bus by a crossing guard

The benefits of electric school buses (ESBs):

  • Replacing all school buses could reduce fossil fuel emissions by at least 1.17 million tonnes annually.
  • ESBs reduce traffic-related air pollution and create less noise pollution, benefiting children, drivers, and surrounding communities.
  • Diesel fumes are more concentrated inside the cabins of fossil-fuel powered buses than outside these buses. Exposing children to diesel fumes increases risks of cancer as well as respiratory, neurological, heart, immune, and reproductive ailments.
  • Many children spend more time on school buses than adults do on public transit. Switching to ESBs shows children we are prioritizing their health and future with progress on climate action.
  • Each diesel school bus taken off the road could yield savings of up to $350,000 in climate and healthcare costs.
  • Compared to fossil-fuel powered buses, ESBs cost 80 per cent less to power and 50 per cent less to maintain.
  • Fleet operators may generate over $5,000 in revenue with the Clean Fuel Regulation and up to $4,000 by connecting ESBs to the grid using vehicle-to-grid technology.
  • With federal incentives, ESBs cost less to purchase than diesel buses.

Join our Growing Membership

CESBA is made up of a growing list of members, including research, advocacy, and school organizations across Canada who have an interest in accelerating the adoption of electric school buses. This work draws together best practices from across North America with the aim of transforming Canada’s school bus sector, with a particular focus on Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Interested in becoming a member? Click here.

Alliance Members

  • Asthma Canada
  • ASTBC
  • Breath Lung Association
  • CAPE
  • Conservation Council of New Brunswick
  • ACCS
  • Clean Air Partnership
  • The climate reality project
  • Children’s Health & Environments
  • CUTRIC
  • David Suzuki Foundation
  • Delphi Group
  • Earth Rangers
  • EcoSchools
  • Electric Mobility Canda
  • Electric Vehicle Society
  • Équiterre
  • Green Economy Canada
  • ICCT
  • Landmark
  • McMaster institute of Transportation & Logistics
  • NB Lung
  • OASBO
  • Ontario Clean Air Alliance
  • Ontario Sustainable Energy Association
  • Pembina Institute
  • Plug ‘n Drive
  • Propulsion Quebec
  • RRC Polytech
  • Student Transportation Services
  • STSWR
  • Switzer Carty Transportation
  • Transdev

CESBA in the News

Kids inside an Electric School Bus

History of Electric Buses in School Transportation

Electric buses have been used for public transit since the early 2000s. Despite the fact that children spend more time on school buses than most adults do on public transit, it was not until 2014 that North America saw its first electric school buses. 

In 2022, the Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance launched with the aim of securing policy commitments at the federal and provincial levels of government to enable all Canadian school bus fleets to transition from diesel to electric power by 2040. 

CESBA’s membership is growing from coast to coast. Join us!

Help CESBA transition all Canadian school bus fleets to electric by 2040!

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History of the Canadian 
Electric School Bus Alliance

Scroll through to see CESBA’s key dates and milestones

Spring 2022

Official Launch

The Canadian Electric School Bus Alliance (CESBA) launched in April 2022, with the aim of rallying diverse actors, producing new research and facilitating knowledge-sharing opportunities in order to shift policy and accelerate the transition to electric school buses across the country.

Fall 2022

Policy Briefs

These Briefs explore the political context, benefits, and challenges related to electric school buses for each province as well as federally, and provides tailored policy recommendations for each.

Winter 2023

Research report

This report examines the feasibility and benefits of transitioning the entire Canadian school bus fleet to electric vehicles by 2040, emphasizing key recommendations for immediate federal action regarding logistics, funding, policy regulation, and education in the context of a climate emergency.

Spring 2023

Virtual colloquium

CESBA’s virtual conference “Electrifying Canada’s School Bus Fleet: Challenges, Lessons Learned and Solutions”, included several panel discussions and a webinar. The event brought together government experts from different provinces, advocacy groups, and other diverse actors to explore topics including the state of ESB adoption across the country, lessons learned from early adopters, policy measures and advocacy efforts that are moving the transition forward.

Fall 2023

2024 Recommendations Report

Describes advantages and challenges of school bus electrification, and presents recommendations for accelerating Canada’s transition.

Winter 2025

Recommendations Report

CESBA releases a new recommendations report, “Powering Up: The Path to Electric School Bus Adoption in Canada.”

Spring 2025

Strategic Planning

CESBA members gather in Ottawa to advance the electric school bus transition.

Fall 2025

Embedding Equity

CESBA releases a new report – the first of its kind – that dives into how the shift to ESBs is affecting Indigenous communities, students with disabilities, bus drivers, and others, and what needs to change to make the transition more equitable.

Join the Alliance

Interested in adding your voice to CESBA?
Fill out this form and we will communicate with you as soon as possible.

CESBA membership form

Latest News

Read our recommendations report, browse recent blogs and press releases.

Banner with cover of report on left, titled "Canada's Electric School Bus Report Card" showing logos for Green Communities Canada and Equiterre. Right side is detailed infographic of findings.

News Release: Canada’s first electric school bus report card

March 24, 2026
→ Report finds most provinces are failing the transition away from diesel, burdening Canadians with increased economic, health, and environmental risks. → P.E.I. ranks first,…
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Group of diverse people from GCC's School Streets initiative gathered in front of giant mushroom monuments in a permanent school street in Montreal.

School Streets Team Gathers in Person for the First Time!

October 9, 2025
The National Active School Streets Initiative (School Streets) is a 4-year program that aims to create car-free streets in front of schools at the start and end…
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A graphic showing an animated yellow school bus. Two hands are placing puzzle pieces into the top sections of the school bus. The CESBA, GCC, and Equiterre logo are at the bottom left.

Press Release: Two Million Students Ride the Bus to School – Who Gets Left Behind in the Electric Transition?

September 3, 2025
Pivotal moment for Canada’s transition to low-carbon student transportation can either exacerbate or alleviate inequities.   Peterborough, ON – September 3, 2025 – Over two million children…
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Funded by:

  • Small Change Fund
  • Trottier Family Foundation