For electric commercial trucks, getting permission to sell in a new country is only half the battle. Fleets also need somewhere to buy the vehicles, technicians who can service them, parts support and help when a truck goes down.
Workhorse Group is now trying to close that gap in Canada. The U.S.-based manufacturer has signed its first Canadian dealer agreement with Tristan Fleet Management, giving the W56 electric step van a formal sales-and-service channel focused heavily on Ontario and Quebec. The move builds on several years of Canadian deployment experience with Purolator, but it comes at a complicated moment: Quebec still offers meaningful incentives for qualifying electric trucks, while the federal medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle purchase program ended in March 2026. That makes local support, fleet economics and real-world uptime more important than ever.
A Dealer Deal That Changes Workhorse’s Canadian Strategy
Workhorse announced the agreement on October 22, 2026, naming Tristan Fleet Management as its first Canadian dealer partner. Tristan will sell and service Workhorse vehicles, beginning with the W56 electric step-van lineup. That is different from simply placing demonstration vehicles with a fleet. A dealer relationship creates a local channel that can handle sales, maintenance, parts and roadside support after vehicles enter service.
The timing also reflects Workhorse’s longer Canadian history. The manufacturer says it has been selling and supporting electric trucks in Canada since 2021 through its relationship with Purolator. What changes now is access. Instead of relying mainly on a large fleet relationship, Workhorse can pursue a broader mix of customers through an established fleet-management company. For operators considering electrification, that distinction matters because buying the vehicle is only the start; service coverage and repair response often determine whether a truck can remain productive through years of use.
Tristan Brings a Ready-Made Ontario and Quebec Service Footprint
Tristan gives Workhorse something difficult for a new commercial-vehicle brand to build quickly: an existing maintenance network. The company operates seven maintenance locations, with five in Quebec and two in Ontario. Its services include truck and trailer maintenance, parts, roadside repair and towing support, while its wider business already works with established equipment brands. That infrastructure gives Workhorse a local partner familiar with commercial fleet pressures.
For a delivery operator, geography can matter as much as vehicle specifications. A truck that loses a shift to a minor fault may disrupt routes, overtime planning and customer commitments. Tristan’s network is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec and supports fleets moving through both provinces. Its mobile repair and roadside capabilities are important to the value of the deal. Workhorse is not simply adding showrooms; it is attaching the W56 to an existing service organization built around keeping trucks and trailers in revenue-generating operation.
The W56 Is Designed for High-Cycle Delivery Work
The W56 is a Class 5-6 battery-electric step van aimed at last-mile delivery and medium-duty work. Workhorse offers standard 178-inch and extended 208-inch wheelbases, with 140-kWh and 210-kWh battery configurations. The larger-battery version is rated for up to 150 miles, or about 240 kilometres, of nominal range, while the 140-kWh configuration is positioned for about 100 miles on shorter urban routes.
Cargo capacity reaches as much as 1,200 cubic feet in the extended configuration, and the Canadian dealer announcement lists payload capability of up to 10,000 pounds. Those figures matter because fleets rarely buy vehicles on range alone. They balance route distance, package volume, payload, charging windows and driver productivity. Workhorse’s two battery sizes let operators avoid paying for unused range on shorter routes while retaining a higher-capacity option for longer duty cycles. The company supports Level 2 and CCS fast charging, providing flexibility for depot charging plans.
Workhorse Cleared Canada’s Regulatory Gate Before Adding a Dealer
The dealer agreement did not come out of nowhere. In February 2025, Workhorse announced that its W56 and W750 electric step vans had been approved for importation and sale in Canada through Transport Canada’s Appendix G pre-clearance program. The process is for foreign manufacturers whose vehicles are built to Canadian requirements and lets commercial importers bring those vehicles into the country through a streamlined process.
Transport Canada says Appendix G manufacturers must provide documentation showing compliance with Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and demonstrate the ability to issue defect notices or recalls. Importers remain responsible for compliance. For Workhorse, that approval removed a regulatory barrier before the Tristan agreement. The Canadian expansion now shifts from regulatory access to commercial execution: finding buyers, supporting vehicles locally and proving that electric step vans can handle Canadian operating conditions. The dealership deal is a second-stage move, not the company’s entry into the market.
Quebec Gives the Business Case an Important Boost
Quebec is significant because its Écocamionnage program continues to subsidize qualifying low-emission freight and service vehicles. Under the 2025-2028 rules, new battery-electric Class 5, 6 and 7 trucks can qualify for financial assistance of up to $100,000, subject to program conditions and available funding. The program is scheduled to run until March 31, 2028, unless its budget is exhausted earlier.
That creates an advantage for a vehicle such as the W56, which sits in the Class 5-6 segment. Tristan executives specifically pointed to Écocamionnage when discussing customer interest in electrification. Still, eligibility is not automatic for every transaction. Quebec requires eligible technologies and vehicles to meet program rules, and applications must satisfy conditions around the buyer, registration and acquisition. For fleet managers, the incentive can improve the purchase equation, but the calculation still includes charging equipment, electricity demand, utilization, financing, maintenance and residual value over the truck’s service life.
The Federal Purchase Incentive Has Already Ended
The Canadian launch also arrives after a source of federal support disappeared. Transport Canada’s Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles program, known as iMHZEV, closed on March 31, 2026. During its life, the program offered point-of-sale incentives ranging from $5,000 to as much as $200,000 for eligible medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles, helping Canadian businesses offset the higher upfront cost of electric trucks.
That matters because fleets shopping in late 2026 cannot assume stacked federal-and-provincial support available earlier. Transport Canada’s dashboard illustrates how young the market remains: battery-electric vehicles represented 2.7% of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2026, with other zero-emission powertrains negligible in the reported share. Workhorse and Tristan need to sell more than environmental benefits. They must show route-level economics, dependable charging plans and service support strong enough to justify capital spending without the former federal purchase subsidy.
Purolator Gives Workhorse a Canadian Proof Point
Workhorse is not asking Canadian fleets to evaluate the W56 in a vacuum. Its relationship with Purolator gives the company a useful Canadian reference. In March 2026, Workhorse announced a 100-vehicle order from Purolator, saying the purchase would double the number of Workhorse electric step vans in the courier company’s fleet. The order built on earlier vehicles supplied by Motiv Electric Trucks, which merged with Workhorse in late 2025.
Purolator’s electrification program has grown beyond a small pilot. The courier reported more than 550 all-electric vehicles in its fleet by 2025, including 274 electric delivery trucks added that year. It also reported 825-plus chargers across 17 sites and seven million-plus packages delivered through all-electric last-mile operations. Those numbers do not prove every fleet will achieve the same results, but they show electric delivery vehicles can be deployed at scale in Canada, including the infrastructure and organizational changes that accompany them.
Charging and Uptime Will Decide Whether Fleets Scale Up
Electric delivery trucks fit some duty cycles because they often return to a depot after predictable daily routes. That creates an opportunity to recharge overnight periods rather than using public fast chargers. U.S. Department of Energy-backed research found managed depot charging can reduce peak loads and energy costs versus unmanaged charging when fleets coordinate around utility rates and schedules.
The harder part is infrastructure planning. Multiple medium-duty trucks at one site can add significant demand, and larger depots may require utility upgrades or larger electrical service. Workhorse lists the W56 with AC Level 2 and CCS fast-charging capability, but charger power is one piece of the equation. A fleet must decide when each truck charges, how much energy routes consume in winter, how much reserve is needed and what happens if equipment fails. Tristan’s maintenance network may reduce vehicle downtime, but reliable electrical infrastructure will be just as important.
Public-Sector Procurement Opens Another Route to Canadian Buyers
The Tristan agreement is aimed at commercial fleets, but Workhorse has a separate path into public-sector purchasing. Canoe Procurement Group lists Workhorse as an approved supplier under its Truck Program, with a contract covering battery-electric work trucks and step vans. Canoe says the Workhorse contract runs until July 9, 2028 and lists availability across Canadian provinces, including Ontario.
Cooperative purchasing can matter because municipalities and other public organizations often face lengthy procurement requirements before acquiring vehicles. Canoe says approved suppliers are selected through an open request-for-proposal process, giving participating organizations access to pre-established contracts rather than forcing every buyer to conduct separate competition. For Workhorse, that creates another Canadian sales channel alongside Tristan’s fleet relationships. Municipal service departments, public agencies and eligible nonprofits often have predictable routes and centralized parking, making some natural candidates for electric medium-duty trucks when range, payload, charging capacity and total cost align with the job.
Workhorse Still Has to Prove It Can Scale Profitably
The Canadian expansion is useful, but Workhorse remains small manufacturer facing financial and execution risks. In its second-quarter 2026 results, the company reported $3.6 million in revenue, a $20.2 million net loss and $9.6 million in cash at June 30. Its regulatory filing said management identified substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year without improving liquidity and working capital.
Workhorse says momentum is improving. It reported its sales pipeline had more than doubled since early 2026, and in September announced an order for 200 W56 trucks from Gateway Fleets following an earlier 100-truck order. Those orders, Purolator’s Canadian business and the Tristan agreement create volume. The test is whether Workhorse can convert orders into deliveries, lower manufacturing costs, support vehicles reliably and generate sustainable margins. Canadian expansion broadens the opportunity but does not remove the execution challenge.
