Motorcycle registrations roared to record levels in 2021

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Spring is just around the corner and motorcycling enthusiasts across Canada are ready to roar on the highway after the long winter. In 2021, 9% more Canadians were humming along on a registered motorcycle or moped compared with one year earlier.

A record high 816,443 motorcycles and mopeds were registered across Canada in 2021, with registrations rising in every province.

You are most likely to hear the “heavy metal thunder” of a motorcycle engine in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta

Following four years of little change, the number of motorcycles registered in Ontario (+8% to 243,996) and Quebec (+9% to 243,309) rose in 2021; approximately 60% of motorcycles on the road nationally were registered in Ontario or Quebec.

Alberta (+7% to 143,197) ranked third in motorcycles registered, ahead of neighbouring British Columbia (+13% to 85,627).

New Brunswick (+11% to 23,218) ranked first in Atlantic Canada in motorcycles registered, followed by Nova Scotia (+14% to 19,799)

Motorcycle registrations rose at the fastest pace in Saskatchewan (+16% to 8,275) in 2021 compared with one year earlier.

Over 3,500 motorcycles registered in the territories

The riding season in the territories is among the shortest on Earth. Nevertheless, 1,482 motorcycles were registered in the Northwest Territories and 1,469 were registered in Yukon in 2021.

Nunavut, Canada’s most northern territory, reported 605 motorcycle registrations.

Motorcycle fatalities rise by almost one-third during the first year of the pandemic

While it is tempting to go full throttle after a winter spent inside, safety should always be foremost for every motorcycle rider.

In 2020, the most recent year for which data are available, 242 Canadians died in a motor vehicle accident, up from 187 one year earlier (+29%). Motorcyclists accounted for 14% of all motor vehicle fatalities and serious injuries nationally in 2020.