More Canadians commuting as remote work declines, hybrid workers on site more often

Traffic on a street in Montreal, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

OTTAWA — The number of Canadians commuting to work rose for the fourth year in a row, a Statistics Canada report said Tuesday, as hybrid workers are increasingly spending more time in the workplace than at home.

The agency said those mostly working from home amounted to 17.4 per cent of employed people compared with 18.7 per cent in May 2024.

Those who worked only outside the home totalled 77.6 per cent in May, up one percentage point from a year earlier, the report said. The percentage of hybrid workers who worked both at home and outside their home was 5.1 in May, up from 4.8 per cent.

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The agency said the Ottawa-Gatineau area saw the biggest jump in commuters this year — up nearly 10 per cent — and its commuter levels are now on par with Toronto at 76 per cent.

“I think that’s reflective of the change in work-from-home policies that you see in a number of businesses,” said Jon MacMull, communications and public affairs director for the Canadian Urban Transit Association.

Vehicle use remained dominant but declined slightly, as Statistics Canada said the share of commuters mainly using a car, truck or van to get to work fell to 80.9 per cent in May compared with 81.5 per cent a year earlier.

Public transit commuters rose to 11.9 per cent from 11.4 per cent, it said, while those walking or cycling to work accounted for 6.2 per cent of commuters, up from six per cent a year earlier. 

“When Canadians are planning their commute, they’re looking at cost, ease of access, frequency and reliability,” said MacMull, noting major cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal see the most public transit ridership.

Those who took public transit had the longest average commute at 44 minutes, the report said, while those who drove to work had a 25-minute commute on average. Those who walked or cycled to work averaged a 15-minute commute.

Toronto continued to have the longest average commute among major cities, reaching 34.9 minutes, the report said.

“I think continued investment in transit will help decrease those commute times,” said MacMull. “It’s critical that as our cities grow, we invest in transit and higher order levels of transit to provide an affordable option for people, to decrease congestion in our cities, to decrease emissions in our city, and future proof our cities for continued growth.”

StatCan also reported that racialized populations have longer average commute times and are more likely to take public transit as they tend to live in larger cities with traffic congestion. 

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South Asian, Black and Chinese commuters spent an average of 30 minutes travelling to work, compared with non-racialized, non-Indigenous commuters who averaged 25-minute commutes. The report also said West Asian, South Asian and Latin American groups had “considerably higher” rates of commutes that are an hour or longer compared to non-racialized, non-Indigenous commuters.

Tuesday’s report comes after some private sector companies, including several Canadian banks, announced that employees would be required to spend more time at the office.

The Ontario government also made a similar move earlier this month, announcing that its public servants will be required to return to the office full time, with employees going in-person five days a week by January 2026.

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Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2025.