The number of commuters reached 16.5 million in May 2024, continuing an upward trend that followed notable declines recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The number of commuters was up 585,000 (+3.7%) in May 2024 compared to May 2023, driven by employment growth (+373,000 or +1.9%) and by an increase in the share of the employed population working at locations other than home, according to a new report released Monday by Statistics Canada.
“The onset of the pandemic led to a sharp contraction in the number of commuters due to a drop in employment and more people mostly working from home. According to data from the Census of Population, the share of the employed population working mostly from home jumped to nearly one in four (24.3%) by May 2021 compared to 7.1% in May 2016,” said the federal agency.
“The share of workers mostly working from home has fallen every year since May 2021, leading to more commuters. 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.
“From May 2023 to May 2024, 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%).
“Saskatchewan had the lowest share of workers mostly working from home among the provinces in May 2024, while Ontario had the highest share.
“Slightly over one-third of employed people in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Ottawa–Gatineau (34.2%) were mostly working from home in May 2024, the highest rate nationally and well above the rates in Toronto (24.7%), Vancouver (22.4%) and Montréal (20.6%).”
Enric Cruz López
The share of commuters mainly taking public transit increased 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, said StatsCan.
“Nevertheless, the share of commuters taking public transit remained below May 2016 levels (12.6%). These results mirror the partial recovery in Canada’s urban transit ridership. In May 2024, Canada’s urban transit ridership was at 87.0% of its pre-pandemic level of May 2019, the highest rate since the onset of the pandemic.
“Workers who work from home most of the time, but who commute to an office or workplace the rest of the time accounted for nearly 3 in 10 workers who mostly work from home (29.4%) in May 2024. This rate was similar to May 2023 but almost double that of May 2022 (16.6%). Workers with such hybrid arrangements had distinct commuting patterns compared with regular commuters. These differences in commuting patterns may reflect a number of factors, including the composition of employment by industry and the availability of public transit where workers reside. Hybrid workers who mostly work from home were over twice as likely to take public transit (25.5%) as commuters in general (11.4%).”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024.
About Us
Canada’s Podcast is the number one podcast in Canada for entrepreneurs and business owners. Established in 2016, the podcast network has interviewed over 600 Canadian entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast.
With hosts in each province, entrepreneurs have a local and national format to tell their stories, talk about their journey and provide inspiration for anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey and well- established founders.
The commitment to a grass roots approach has built a loyal audience on all our social channels and YouTube – 500,000+ lifetime YouTube views, 200,000 + audio downloads, 35,000 + average monthly social impressions, 10,000 + engaged social followers and 35,000 newsletter subscribers. Canada’s Podcast is proud to provide a local, national and international presence for Canadian entrepreneurs to build their brand and tell their story
