New data take a closer look at cycling infrastructure in Canada

Though it may be a little trickier in the wintertime, biking is an excellent mode of active transportation used by many Canadians to get around.

For some Canadians, their bike takes them to and from work. The share of commuters mainly taking active transportation has remained essentially unchanged since 2021, with 6.0% of commuters walking or biking to work in May 2024.

Biking to work isn’t always an option and can be easier in some cities than others. For example, active transportation was more prevalent in Victoria (18.7%) and Halifax (12.3%) in 2024 than in other census metropolitan areas, potentially due to the smaller size and milder climate of these cities. The ability to bike to work is often dependent on the availability of safe bike paths or lanes.

To supplement existing data on commuting patterns, Statistics Canada has just released the Canadian Cycling Network Database, a dataset that consolidates nationwide cycling infrastructure information from 75 municipal open data sources from 2018 to 2024.

Using the Canadian Bikeway Comfort and Safety (Can-BICS) classification system, this dataset reveals the availability and accessibility of cycling infrastructure, making it easier to understand what biking to work may look like in different municipalities. 

Cycling infrastructure was classified into different bikeway types based on comfort level. High-comfort bikeways are considered comfortable and safe for most people and include protected cycle tracks, paved off-street bike paths and local street bikeways. Medium-comfort bikeways include multi-use paths shared by cyclists and pedestrians. Low-comfort bikeways are considered high-stress routes and include painted bike lanes along busy roads.

Across the municipalities, multi-use paths account for 27% of the reported cycling infrastructure, followed by painted bike lanes, which cover 26%. High-comfort infrastructure accounts for 13% of all Can-BICS classified infrastructure, including cycle tracks (6%), paved off-street bike paths (4%) and local street bikeways (3%).

The municipalities with the greatest extent of high-comfort biking infrastructure were Montréal (360 km), Vancouver (246 km), Edmonton (226 km) and Québec (190 km).

Continue reading about the methodology and results in the metadata report included as part of the release entitled, “Release of the Canadian Cycling Network Database.”

Cycling is not for everyone, especially in the wintertime. So maybe you’re not much of a cyclist, but do you commute by public transit? Statistics Canada also has just released the Canadian Public Transit Network Database, which compiles municipal data on transit services including buses, trains and ferries. For each service, the dataset details routes, stops, trips, and fares where possible, for all 10 provinces and for two territories. Canadians who like to do their research before they ride can now compare the availability of transit in their area with other regions across the country.