Canadians’ commutes: Still car-heavy, but some lighter footprints

In 2021, Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 670.4 megatonnes, down by over one-tenth (-10.4%) from a peak of 748.1 megatonnes in 2007.

Transportation was responsible for 187.7 megatonnes (28.0%) of overall GHG emissions in 2021, and the largest proportion was from road transportation, which included all types of vehicles and fuels.

All this to say, commuting patterns have always had an impact on GHG emission levels. So how are Canadians doing when it comes to greening their commutes?

How do Canadians get to work?

The 2021 Census of Population surveyed Canadians in detail about their commuting habits, and here’s the breakdown of all 13.1 million commuters: 11.0 million commuted by car, truck or van (83.9%); 1.8 million commuted by sustainable transportation (13.9%), including 1.0 million by public transit (7.7%) and 811,000 by active transportation (6.2%); and 285,000 commuted by other method (2.2%).

Of the 11.0 million commuters that commuted by car, truck or van, nearly 9 in 10 (87.4%) were the driver and only worker in the vehicle.

Many commuting patterns in 2021 were still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent a lot of workers home to work remotely, if possible; that year, one in four workers (24.3%) worked remotely. As well, businesses across all industries continued to be affected by pandemic-related health measures.

In May 2022, with most pandemic-related measures eased and the economy re-opening, data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) found that patterns had shifted a bit more.

Let’s have a look at some of the updated findings from the LFS and other surveys.

Every step (and pedal) counts

The number of Canadians that commuted by active transportation (walking or cycling) fell from 1.1 million in 2016 to 811,000 in 2021. This decline reflects, in part, fewer jobs in accommodation and food services and retail trade. In 2016, nearly one-third (32.0%) of Canadians who mainly commuted by foot or bicycle worked in these two sectors.

In May 2022, about 1 in 20 Canadians (4.8%) mainly walked to work, up by 75,000 from the 2021 Census, while 1 in 60 (1.4%) cycled, up 78,000 from 2021.

However, active commuting overall was still 11.9% below 2016 levels.

Public transit numbers recovering

According to a survey of urban transit providers, ridership in May 2022 was 61.8% of the pre-pandemic May 2019 level. As well, every province except Manitoba saw more people commuting on public transit in 2022 than in 2021.

In March 2023, the same survey found that passenger volumes had returned to almost three-quarters (73.8%) of the level from March 2019.

Car, gasoline still supreme, but more electric in the rearview mirror

In May 2022, LFS data showed that the number of car commuters increased again, up to 12.5 million, exceeding the number from May 2016 (excluding those in the territories, First Nations reserves and full-time military).

In the fourth quarter of 2022, new registrations of gasoline-powered vehicles made up a smaller share of all fuel types (80.6%), compared with the same quarter 2020 (88.0%). Registrations of diesel-powered vehicles also declined.

Conversely, the combined share of new registrations of hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles more than doubled to 14.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 7.2% two years earlier.

Looking down the road

This fall, the LFS will release detailed commuting data for the May 2023 reference month. Detailed vehicle registration data for 2022 will be released in December.