Many Canadians are more than 15 minutes from a grocery store—why that matters

January 20, 2025, 11:00 a.m. (EST)

For many Canadians, high prices for groceries are part of an ongoing strain on their household budgets. Further, some people might need to take a longer walk or transit ride to get to their closest store.

In November 2024, Statistics Canada released a report on access by active transportation (walking or cycling) or public transit in 2022 to various types of community facilities and places of employment.

The report, produced in collaboration with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, found that in 2022, close to two-thirds of Canadians had access by public transit to a grocery store during peak hours (approximately 63%) and off-peak hours (approximately 62%).

Approximately four in five Canadians (80%) had access to a grocery store within 15 minutes by cycling. This proportion dropped to 71% for those walking.

In other words, getting to the closest grocery store could take considerably longer than 15 minutes for many Canadians. This was the case for one-third of Canadians by transit, for 1 in 5 Canadians by cycling and for 3 in 10 Canadians by walking. Longer trips could be an issue for some of them.

Further, although 9 in 10 Canadian households had a vehicle in 2021, not everyone drives. Meanwhile, other people may face barriers to accessing grocery stores because of a disability or lack of transit reliability, and some may find it difficult, or impossible, to cover a long distance by foot.

Let’s have a closer look at some more key numbers related to access and ability to get to the nearest grocery store, as well as how many Canadians have someone to depend on when in need.

Public transit travel times could be affected by location and proximity to transit stops

The report found significant differences at the provincial and territorial level for transit access, and trip times can vary by population centre and neighbourhood.

For example, 28.2% of Newfoundland and Labrador residents resided within one kilometre of a transit stop in 2021, the lowest proportion among provinces and territories. In contrast, the proportion was highest for British Columbia residents (88.0%).

According to another analysis, using 2021 Census of Population geographical data, there are significant differences at the census metropolitan area (CMA) level. For example, 93.6% of residents in Red Deer, Alberta, lived within 500 metres of a transit stop in 2023, the highest proportion among CMAs. This was followed by Montréal (87.1%), Quebec; Regina (86.4%), Saskatchewan, and Victoria (84.8%) and Vancouver (84.0%), British Columbia.

Conversely, the proportion of residents living within 500 metres of a transit stop was lowest among residents of the CMA of Drummondville (37.1%), Quebec, and the CMAs of Saint John (42.3%) and Fredericton (48.9%), New Brunswick.

Barriers to access for persons with disabilities

The 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability found that more than one in four Canadians aged 15 years and older (27%), or 8.0 million people, had one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities. This rate was up by 5 percentage points from 2017 (22%).

When looking at disability types, a high proportion of persons with a mobility- (29.2%), dexterity- (28.7%) or flexibility- (26.0%) related disability sometimes encountered barriers to accessing entrances and exits to buildings, which could include grocery stores. Those with a dexterity disability encountered this barrier often (7.9%) or always (5.3%).

The proportion of persons with a memory disability who sometimes faced a barrier related to signs or directions was 19.1%, while the proportion of those who often (5.7%) or always (4.8%) faced this barrier was lower. Proportions were similar for persons with a developmental disability who faced this obstacle sometimes (18.3%), often (5.6%) or always (6.3%).

More than 1 in 10 persons with a dexterity disability (13.1%) sometimes encountered this type of barrier.

For Canadians with disabilities who take transit, there was a marginal improvement in access. The number of specialized transit vehicles in Canada for persons with disabilities increased from 2,231 in 2020 to 2,350 in 2022.

Safety and lack of infrastructure ongoing concerns for cyclists

Other Statistics Canada-led research, released in 2022 and also based on census geographical data, found that about one-third (34%) of neighbourhoods across Canada have no cycling infrastructure.

Of the 28,122 kilometres of bikeways nationwide in 2022, almost one-quarter (23%) were completed from 2020 to 2022, while 38% were completed from 2010 to 2019.

A study on cycling fatalities in Canada from 2006 to 2017 found that collisions with a motor vehicle made up nearly three in four cycling fatalities (73%), while road safety rules may not have been respected in about one in three cycling fatalities (32%).

It is possible that the cyclist, the other party or both may have not followed the road safety rules. Also, in 49% of cycling fatalities, the information about road safety rules was not available.

There’s never enough time in a day!

According to the latest data from the Time Use Survey, Canadians aged 15 years and older reported spending 3.2 hours per day on unpaid work activities in 2022, mostly on unpaid household work (2.1 hours) but also on shopping for goods or services (0.4 hours).

Further, more than one in five Canadians (21.8%) reported spending an average of 38 minutes per day on travelling related to shopping.

Most Canadians have someone to depend on

For people who are unable to make a trip for groceries or other essentials, it is critical to have help. In the third quarter of 2024, almost three in four Canadians (73.7%) reported always or often having people to depend on when needed, according to the Canadian Social Survey.

Fewer than one in five Canadians (18.2%) sometimes had people to depend on, while 8.2% rarely or never had people to depend on.

For more information

For the latest data and analysis, check out our Accessibility statistics portal, Quality of Life Hub and Census of Population module.

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Contact information

For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).