Ottawa sees Canada's largest decrease in commuters driving to work

Ottawa, Ontario (Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash)

Ottawa-Gatineau saw the largest drop in commuters driving to work in Canada in 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced more people to work from home.

New census data from Statistics Canada shows Ottawa-Gatineau saw a 26 per cent decrease in commuters driving to work in May 2021 compared to 2016.

Toronto had the second-largest decline (24.3 per cent), followed by Hamilton (23.1 per cent).

Across Canada, there were 2.8 million fewer commuters in 2021 than in 2016 across Canada.

In the national capital region, Statistics Canada says 10 regions saw a decrease in car commuting ranging from 20 to 35 per cent: Ottawa, Gatineau, Cantley, Chelsea, La Peche, Merrickville-Wolford, North Grenville, Tay Valley, Mississippi Mills and Lanark Highlands.

Another 45 areas saw a decrease in commuting between five per cent and 19.9 per cent, including Pontiac, South Glengarry, South Stormont, Cornwall, South Dundas, Clarence-Rockland, Casselman, Russell, Prescott, Carleton Place, and Renfrew.

Ottawa-Gatineau also saw one of the largest declines in average car commuting time, at 2.1 minutes.

Ottawa data

The census data shows there were 164,150 fewer commuters travelling to work in Ottawa in 2021 compared to 2016.

With federal public servants, Shopify and other employers moving to a remote working model during the pandemic, the commuting patterns shifted with fewer people driving, walking, riding a bicycle or using public transit to get to work.

Of the 275,700 commuters with a "usual place of work or no fixed workplace address", 211,755 people commuted in a car, truck or van in 2021, compared to 300,870 in 2016.

Here is a look at the main mode of commuting for Ottawa residents in 2021 (2016 figures in parenthesis)

• Car, truck or van – as a driver: 190,190 (275,620)
• Car, truck or van – as a passenger: 21,565 (25,250)
• Public transit: 31,015 (90,690)
• Walked: 19,395 (32,450)
• Bicycle: 4,260 (11,465)
• Other method: 9,265 (4380)

The majority of commuters said it took less than 30 minutes to commute to work.

Canada's capital for walkers

Ottawa-Gatineau has the highest proportion of downtown commuters who walk to work in the spring of 2021.

The data shows 29.8 per cent of people who live downtown walk to work in the capital region.

Victoria, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto rounded out the top five.