The City of Brampton has announced a landmark $4-billion partnership with U.K.-based company Zenobē to transition its entire transit bus fleet from diesel to electric vehicles, marking the largest zero-emission transit initiative in Canadian history.
Over the next 10 years, the deal will see up to 1,000 battery-powered electric buses deployed across Brampton, a move that aims to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and modernize the city’s transit infrastructure. Transit buses currently account for nearly 70 per cent of Brampton’s corporate greenhouse gas emissions, and this project is expected to eliminate the majority of that output.
The announcement follows a meeting in Ottawa last month between Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Zenobē leadership, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other officials. Zenobē, founded in 2017, specializes in electric vehicle fleet operations and grid-scale battery storage and employs experts across engineering, software, and finance.
“This partnership with Zenobē is more than just a transit upgrade — it’s a generational investment in a cleaner, healthier Brampton,” said Mayor Brown. “By transitioning to a fully electric bus fleet, we’re reducing emissions, creating jobs, and delivering long-term environmental and economic benefits.”
International Trade Minister and Brampton East MP Maninder Sidhu praised the deal as a deepening of Canada-U.K. trade relations. “The U.K. is one of our oldest and closest trading partners, and I’m excited to see our relationship grow through this major investment,” he said.
The project is expected to generate around 5,000 direct and indirect jobs across both countries and bring $1 billion in foreign investment into Canada. It also builds on the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s earlier $400 million investment, which supports Brampton Transit’s plan to acquire up to 450 zero-emission buses by 2027.
With this deal, Brampton is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable transit innovation, reinforcing its commitment to climate action and economic growth.
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