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Transportation in Canada 2002 |
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2 TRANSPORTATION AND THE ECONOMY
URBANIZATION AND TRAVEL TO WORK1
As urbanization continues to increase in Canada, more and more
commuters in urban areas are changing the way they get to work.
The 2001 Census shows that 79.4 per cent of Canadians lived
in urban centres with a population of 10,000 people or more, an
increase from 78.5 per cent in 1996. The number of people living
in Canada's 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) rose to 19.3 million,
or 64 per cent of the total population, up from 63 per cent in
1996. Growth was concentrated in the four major urban areas of
Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, the Montreal area, British Columbia's
Lower Mainland and the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. The number of
people living in these areas rose 7.6 per cent from 1996 to 2001,
compared with a 0.5 per cent increase in the rest of Canada, and
made up 51 per cent of the total population. Within CMAs, growth
from 1996 to 2001 has been faster in the surrounding municipalities
(8.5 per cent) than in the core municipalities (4.3 per cent).
As Table 2-3 shows, the number of people whose usual place
of work was located in CMAs was 7.9 million, up 460,000 from 1996
and 1.5 million from 1981. Within CMAs, the number of people who
worked in the surrounding municipalities grew by 63 per cent from
1996 to 2001, while the number who worked in the core areas grew
only 8.3 per cent. The total number of jobs in the surrounding
municipalities rose from 29 to 38 per cent, while the number in
the core municipalities fell from 71 to 62 per cent. This shift
was most pronounced in Toronto and Vancouver, both of which had
a 17 per cent shift.
Figure 2-3 shows the changing commuting patterns within CMAs.
From 1981 to 2001, the number of workers who commuted within the
core fell 10 per cent, while commutes within a suburban municipality,
between a core and the surrounding municipalities, and between
surrounding municipalities all rose. The Census data also showed
245,000 more people working in CMAs than living in those areas.
For Toronto, seven per cent of its workforce (162,000) lives outside
its CMA boundary.
TABLE 2-3: WORKERS IN THE CORE AND SUBURBS, TOP FIVE CENSUS METROPOLITAN AREAS, 2001
| |
In CMA |
In core |
In suburbs |
Percentage change from 1981 in CMA |
Percentage change from 1981 in core |
Percentage change from 1981 in suburbs |
| Toronto |
2,006,150 |
1,178,605 |
827,550 |
29.4 |
0.2 |
121.1 |
| Montreal |
1,437,645 |
626,800 |
810,850 |
16.2 |
1.4 |
30.9 |
| Vancouver |
790,850 |
284,420 |
506,430 |
51.4 |
3 |
105.8 |
| Ottawa–Hull |
480,500 |
337,885 |
87,610 |
40.5 |
20.8 |
40.3 |
| Calgary |
428,335 |
414,235 |
14,100 |
35.8 |
33.9 |
138.8 |
| |
| All CMAs |
7,929,555 |
4,886,205 |
2,988,359 |
24 |
7.1 |
63.3 |
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2001
TABLE 2-4: WORKERS’ USUAL MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO WORK IN THE TOP FIVE CENSUS METROPOLITAN AREAS, 2001
| |
All modes transportation |
Driver |
Passenger |
Public |
Walk |
Bicycle |
Other |
| |
Number of workers |
---------- Per cent ---------- |
| Toronto |
2,248,055 |
65.2 |
6.3 |
22.4 |
4.6 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
| Montreal |
1,580,270 |
65.6 |
4.8 |
21.7 |
5.9 |
1.4 |
0.6 |
| Vancouver1 |
905,995 |
72.2 |
7.0 |
11.5 |
6.5 |
1.1 |
1.7 |
| Ottawa–Hull |
525,070 |
64.6 |
7.4 |
18.5 |
6.8 |
1.1 |
1.6 |
| Calgary |
499,050 |
71.8 |
6.8 |
13.2 |
5.9 |
1.6 |
0.7 |
| |
| All CMAs |
9,119,770 |
70.8 |
6.6 |
14.8 |
5.7 |
1.3 |
0.8 |
| Canada |
13,450,855 |
73.8 |
6.9 |
10.5 |
6.6 |
1.2 |
1 |
1 A bus strike in 2001 may explain the low public transit usage in Vancouver.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2001
FIGURE 2-3: TYPE OF COMMUTE TO WORK IN ALL CENSUS METROPOLITAN AREAS, 1981, 1991 AND 2001
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2001
The distance that Canadians travel to work increased to 7.2
kilometres in 2001, up from seven kilometres in 1996. The proportion
of people who travel more than 25 kilometres was 13 per cent,
about the same as in 1996. CMAs with the three greatest median
commuting distances were in the Golden Horseshoe: Oshawa (10.7
kilometres), Toronto (9.2 kilometres) and Hamilton (8.2 kilometres).
The two CMAs with the next greatest median commuting distances
were Montreal (7.9 kilometres) and Ottawa-Hull (7.8 kilometres).
As Table 2-4 shows, the automobile continues to be Canadians'
most common form of transportation to work. In 2001, 13.5 million
Canadians commuted to work, up 10.6 per cent from 1996. Of these
commuters, 9.2 million went to work in CMAs, a 14 per cent increase
from 1996. In 2001, 70.8 per cent of all commuters in CMAs drove
a motor vehicle to work, 6.6 per cent went to work as passengers,
14.8 used public transportation, 5.7 per cent walked and 1.3 rode
a bike. These percentages are generally unchanged from 1996, although
the number of drivers increased by just 0.5 per cent at the expense
of the number of passengers. The largest metropolitan centres
had the highest proportion of people using public transportation
and the lowest proportion of people driving to work. In Toronto,
the number of people using public transportation fell by about
0.5 a per cent since 1996, while in Montreal it rose by about
1.5 per cent.
1 Data in this section is taken from Statistics Canada Census 2001 publication Where Canadians work and how they get there. Catalogue 96F0030XIE2002010. Back to text
Canadian Economic Performance
Urbanization and Travel to Work
International Trade and Trade Flows
Tourism
Employment
Energy Consumption
Productivity and Price Performance of Transport
Importance of Transportation to the Canadian Economy
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