Increase in Canadian Commuters in 2024
The number of commuters in Canada increased by 585,000 (+3.7%) in May 2024 compared to May 2023, driven by employment growth (+373,000 or +1.9%) and a rise in the share of the employed population working at locations other than home. Commuters are defined as employed people who work most of their hours outside the home, either at a usual fixed place of work or with no fixed work location. Those who work most of their hours at home are not included in the commuter counts.
The proportion of employed Canadians mostly working from home has decreased since May 2021 but remains more than twice as high as it was before the pandemic. In May 2024, 18.7% of employed people worked mostly from home, down 1.4 percentage points from May 2023 and 3.7 percentage points lower compared with May 2022. The share of employed people mostly working from home decreased in Quebec (-3.8 percentage points to 18.4%), Saskatchewan (-1.8 percentage points to 10.1%), and Ontario (-1.4 percentage points to 21.7%). Conversely, this share increased in Nova Scotia (+3.0 percentage points to 17.5%) and Prince Edward Island (+2.5 percentage points to 15.4%).
In May 2024, 81.5% of commuters mainly used a car, truck, or van to commute to work, down 1.1 percentage points from May 2023 and 2.7 percentage points lower than the record high of 84.2% in May 2022. The share of car commuters fell in Nova Scotia (-3.8 percentage points to 81.7%), Prince Edward Island (-3.3 percentage points to 89.4%), Alberta (-2.0 percentage points to 86.6%), and Ontario (-2.0 percentage points to 80.5%). Conversely, the share of commuters mainly traveling by car, truck, or van increased in Manitoba (+2.9 percentage points to 86.5%) and Saskatchewan (+1.9 percentage points to 91.3%).
The average commute time to work for regular commuters was 26.4 minutes in May 2024, similar to the previous high of 26.3 minutes reached in May 2016. The longest average commutes were in Toronto (33.3 minutes), Oshawa (32.6 minutes), Barrie (30.7 minutes), Hamilton (30.6 minutes), and Vancouver (30.5 minutes). The shortest average commute times were in Lethbridge (16.6 minutes) and Saguenay (17.0 minutes).
The share of commuters with a long commute of 60 minutes or more increased for the third year in a row in May 2024, reaching 9.2% of all commuters, up from 8.7% in May 2023 and 8.1% in May 2022. In Oshawa, one-fifth of commuters (20.0%) had a long commute, the largest share among all census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Commuters in Toronto (15.7%), Barrie (14.6%), Abbotsford–Mission (14.2%), and Hamilton (13.8%) were also more likely to have a long commute.
The share of commuters mainly taking public transit increased by 1.3 percentage points to 11.4% from May 2023 to May 2024, continuing the upward trend from the record low of 7.8% in May 2021. However, the share of commuters taking public transit remained below May 2016 levels (12.6%).
