Canada Wants a Standard Charging Port for Electronics, Just Like the EU

Canada’s 2023 budget promises to establish a common charging standard for smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and other devices, much like the European Union (EU) recently did.

“Budget 2023 announces that the federal government will work with international partners and other stakeholders to explore implementing a standard charging port in Canada, with the aim of lowering costs for Canadians and reducing electronic waste,” Ottawa said in its 2023 budget, which was released to the public on Wednesday.

Late last year, the EU set a deadline of December 28, 2024, for all new phones (and more) sold in the region to use USB-C for charging. The move will force tech giants like Apple to adopt the port as standard on all of their consumer electronics, saving consumers the hassle and cost of having multiple cables to charge their devices.

Apple is set to switch to USB-C on the iPhone as early as this year with the upcoming iPhone 15 lineup.

“Over the past decade, multiple chargers have been developed by manufacturers for phones, tablets, cameras, laptops, and other devices. Every time Canadians purchase new devices, they need to buy new chargers to go along with them, which drives up costs and increases electronic waste,” the 2023 budget plan explains.

The budget went on to reference the EU’s decision, and while the feds did not explicitly say they would establish USB-C as the common charging standard, there aren’t any other notable alternatives at this time.

Canada’s 2023 budget also promises to introduce a “targeted framework” for consumers’ right-to-repair, in addition to tackling junk telecom fees, like internet overage and roaming charges, that Canadians are forced to pay.

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