This Man Will Drive From Ontario to the Arctic Ocean and Back in an EV
Patrick Nadeau, a Quebec driver who made a roundtrip of more than 15,700 km to Mexico in a Hyundai IONIQ 5 in the fall of 2022, is now attempting to repeat the experience by travelling all the way to the Arctic and back.
The project, which is supported by Hyundai Canada, will take him across five provinces and two territories up to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Nadeau will also have the benefit of driving the revised and improved 2025 IONIQ 5—more specifically a Preferred model with the Ultimate Package—featuring a new 84kWh battery enabling up to 504 km of range.
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Departing today from the automaker’s Canadian headquarters in Markham, Ontario, he will make his way west through the Prairies and Rockies, then drive up the coast of British Columbia, later through Yukon and finally into the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.
Including the return trip, set to be completed about two months from now, Nadeau will have logged over 15,000 km.
The goal of the entire project is to show that an EV like the IONIQ 5, combined with Canada’s rapidly growing charging infrastructure, makes it possible to travel across the country and even reach remote locations where road conditions and charger access can be a real challenge.
“I know the vehicle well enough to trust that no modifications are needed to reach my destination safely,” said Nadeau. “Owning an EV is not the same as a gasoline vehicle, it requires more planning, which EV owners quickly accept and adapt to.”
You can follow his journey to the Arctic through weekly posts and updates on Hyundai Canada’s Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts. A documentary-style travelogue is also planned.
And how cool is this: in partnership with Hyundai Hope on Wheels, a Canadian nonprofit organization committed to the fight against paediatric cancer, Nadeau will also capture immersive virtual reality experiencesalong the way. These will be offered free of charge to multiple hospitals across the country, allowing young patients to virtually explore the Arctic from their rooms during treatment.
In the summer of 2023, German long-distance driver Rainer Zietlow set a world record right here in Canada by traveling from coast to coast in an electric vehicle with the least number of charging stops. He used a Volkswagen ID.4 crossover equipped with an 82kWh battery enabling a range of 443 km.