Number of Canadian commuters increases for fourth straight year in 2025

Released: 2025-08-26

For the fourth year in a row, the proportion of employed people mostly working from home was down in May 2025 (17.4%) compared with May 2024 (18.7%), resulting in more commuters on the roads.

The share of commuters mainly using a car, truck or van to get to work decreased 0.6 percentage points over the previous year to 80.9% in May 2025, continuing the downward trend recorded since May 2022. At the same time, the proportion of public transit commuters increased for the fourth year in a row, up 0.5 percentage points from May 2024 to 11.9% May 2025, though it remained below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level (12.6% in May 2016).

For many Canadians, commuting is a major part of their daily routine and longer commutes can impact workers' well-being and work-life balance. Moreover, understanding changes in how Canadians commute has important implications for transportation planning and environmental sustainability.

The proportion of workers commuting to a workplace outside the home continues to rise

The proportion of employed people who are commuters—that is, who usually work most of their hours outside their home—rose for the fourth year in a row to reach 82.6% in May 2025, up 1.3 percentage points from May 2024. In comparison, this proportion recorded a low of 75.7% in May 2021 (according to data from the Census of Population), in the context of widespread public health measures implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, commuting patterns in Canada have shifted. Some commuters usually work exclusively outside their home, while others usually primarily work on-site but spend part of their work hours at home. Employed people who usually work most of their hours at home are not included in the counts of commuters.

In May 2025, 5.1% of workers were commuters who usually worked some hours from home, up slightly from May 2024 (4.8%) and the third consecutive increase since May 2022 (2.6%). Commuters who usually work exclusively outside their home made up more than three in four workers (77.6%) in May 2025, a proportion that increased for the third straight year.

Chart 1 
A large majority of commuters usually work only outside the home

The proportion of workers who are commuters increases the most in Ottawa–Gatineau

In May 2025, the proportion of workers who were commuters—that is, who worked most of their hours outside the home—ranked highest in the census metropolitan areas (CMA) of Winnipeg (89.5%) and Windsor (87.4%) and lowest in Ottawa–Gatineau (76.0%) and Toronto (76.1%).

From May 2024 to May 2025, the proportion of workers who were commuters rose 9.5 percentage points to 76.0% in the CMA of Ottawa–Gatineau, the largest increase among the 15 largest CMAs. From May 2021 to May 2024, the proportion of workers who were commuters in Ottawa–Gatineau was well below the rates of other urban centres, but in May 2025, it was comparable with Toronto (76.1%) and much closer to other CMAs like Victoria (78.3%) and Vancouver (79.2%).

Chart 2 
Proportion of workers who are commuters in the 15 largest census metropolitan areas, May 2025

Commuting to work by car, truck or van remains the most prevalent commuting method

In May 2025, four in five commuters (80.9%) primarily travelled to work by car, truck or van, down from one year earlier (81.5%). This was the third straight decline in the proportion of car commuters after it reached a high of 84.2% in May 2022. Taking a car remained the most common main mode of transportation for commuting in May 2025, with three in four commuters (75.1%) being behind the wheel and another 5.8% tagging along as a passenger.

Among the 15 largest CMAs in May 2025, the share of commuters using a car, truck or van was highest in Windsor (93.2%) and St. Catharines–Niagara (91.9%) and lowest in Toronto (69.4%), Montréal (70.0%) and Vancouver (70.1%).

The proportion of commuters taking public or active transit up from May 2024, though still below pre-pandemic levels

In May 2025, the proportion of commuters mainly taking public transit or active transportation (walking or cycling) to work was 18.2%, up from 17.5% in May 2024. Despite the increase, this proportion was still below the pre-pandemic level of 19.4% observed in May 2016.

In May 2025, 11.9% of commuters primarily took public transit to get to work, up 0.5 percentage points from one year earlier. Active transit was the main mode of commuting for 6.2% of commuters, as 4.8% of commuters walked to work and 1.4% cycled.

These sustainable modes of commuting were most prevalent in Canada's three largest CMAs of Toronto (29.9%), Montréal (29.1%) and Vancouver (29.0%) in May 2025, boosted by higher rates of public transit availability and use. These CMAs were followed by Victoria (26.6%), which was also the CMA with the highest proportion of commuters who either walked or cycled to work (15.0%).

Toronto and surrounding urban areas continue to have high average commute times

In May 2025, the average time spent commuting to work was 26.7 minutes, little changed from one year earlier. With fewer commuters on the road during the pandemic, the average commute time had dropped from 26.3 minutes in May 2016 to 23.9 minutes in May 2021. Subsequently, from May 2022 to May 2024, average commute times increased to levels comparable with before the pandemic.

Average commute times were among the highest in Canada's three largest CMAs in May 2025. Toronto continued to have the longest average commute, reaching 34.9 minutes, up 1.6 minutes from one year earlier. Average commute times were little changed in Vancouver (31.1 minutes) and Montréal (29.0 minutes). Average commute times were also above the national average in CMAs close to Toronto, such as Barrie (31.6 minutes), Oshawa (30.8 minutes) and Hamilton (29.1 minutes).

Chart 3 
Census metropolitan areas with average commute times above the national average, May 2025

Public transit commuters have the longest average commute time

Average commute times varied notably depending on the commuting method. In May 2025, workers whose main mode of commuting was public transit had the longest average commute, at 44.1 minutes. In contrast, car commuters (24.7 minutes) and commuters taking active transit (15.0 minutes) had notably shorter average commute times.

Racialized populations have longer average commute times

Many racialized population groups face longer commutes, which can lead to unique employment and work-life balance challenges.

Among Canada's three largest racialized population groups in May 2025, South Asian (31.9 minutes), Black (30.1 minutes) and Chinese (31.4 minutes) commuters had longer average commute times compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous commuters (24.8 minutes).

Moreover, notable shares of commuters within racialized populations had long commutes (defined as commutes of 60 minutes or more). Among commuters in May 2025, 20.4% of West Asians, 15.9% of South Asians and 15.7% of Latin Americans had long commutes, considerably higher than the proportion of non-racialized, non-Indigenous commuters (8.0%).

Racialized populations tend to live in larger cities with longer commute times and worse traffic congestion and are more likely to take public transit. In May 2025, roughly one in four Black (25.7%), Latin American (25.3%) and Filipino (24.4%) commuters primarily took public transportation to work, compared with 6.8% of non-racialized, non-Indigenous commuters.

Chart 4 
Average commute times higher among many racialized groups in May 2025

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).