In a recent update, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants called Canadian commuting patterns, which is dominated by light vehicles, “a sad failure of urban planning.”
This year they said more than 80 per cent of Canadians drove to work in a light vehicle, thereby creating a strong foundation for vehicle demand in this category.
The number of consumers that work mostly from home has slipped from 22.4 per cent during 2022 pandemic highs to 17.4 per cent as of May 2025. However, the time drivers spend on commutes has gone up.
“While the dependence on the car is an important support for the auto market, a less positive aspect of this pattern is that the average time of commutes has also increased in recent years, rising to 26.7 minutes on average for this year, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic 2016 figure recorded at 26.3 minutes,” said DAC in its update.
Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, said in a statement that the pandemic period resulted in commuting behaviour shifts in terms of increased work-from-home arrangements and a pullback in transit use.
“These shifts have seen notable corrections in recent years as the lingering changes brought about by the pandemic normalize,” said King. “The auto sector and public transit should not be seen as adversarial in their operations and scope — both are essential for an efficient economy.”
Sadly, he said Canadian municipalities and provinces have shown a “stunning lack of competence” when it comes to urban planning and transportation — “for which we (are) all paying the price in terms of daily gridlock, increased business costs, and growing commute times.”
