An electric motor assembly includes a stator, rotor, housing, rotatable shaft, and cooling fan. The stator and rotor are at least partly housed in the housing. The shaft is associated with the rotor to rotate about an axis. The cooling fan is fixed to and thereby rotates with the shaft to induce airflow within the housing. The cooling fan includes a wheel plate projecting radially relative to the shaft. The cooling fan further includes a plurality of radial blades that project axially from the wheel plate. The blades define a series of radial channels. The wheel plate defines an axial plate opening therethrough in alignment with a respective one of the channels.