For the fourth year in a row, the proportion of employed people mostly working from home was down in May 2025 (17.4%) compared with May 2024 (18.7%), resulting in more commuters on the roads, according to a Statistics Canada report.
The share of commuters mainly using a car, truck or van to get to work decreased 0.6 percentage points over the previous year to 80.9% in May 2025, continuing the downward trend recorded since May 2022. At the same time, the proportion of public transit commuters increased for the fourth year in a row, up 0.5 percentage points from May 2024 to 11.9% May 2025, though it remained below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level (12.6% in May 2016), said the federal agency.
“For many Canadians, commuting is a major part of their daily routine and longer commutes can impact workers’ well-being and work-life balance. Moreover, understanding changes in how Canadians commute has important implications for transportation planning and environmental sustainability,” it said.
“The proportion of employed people who are commuters—that is, who usually work most of their hours outside their home—rose for the fourth year in a row to reach 82.6% in May 2025, up 1.3 percentage points from May 2024. In comparison, this proportion recorded a low of 75.7% in May 2021 (according to data from the Census of Population), in the context of widespread public health measures implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, commuting patterns in Canada have shifted. Some commuters usually work exclusively outside their home, while others usually primarily work on-site but spend part of their work hours at home. Employed people who usually work most of their hours at home are not included in the counts of commuters.
“In May 2025, 5.1% of workers were commuters who usually worked some hours from home, up slightly from May 2024 (4.8%) and the third consecutive increase since May 2022 (2.6%). Commuters who usually work exclusively outside their home made up more than three in four workers (77.6%) in May 2025, a proportion that increased for the third straight year.”
Statistics Canada said some workers usually work both at home and at locations other than home. This category includes people who usually spend most of their work hours on-site—and who are considered to be commuters—and those who usually spend most of their work hours at home.
“Following the easing of COVID-19 pandemic-related public health restrictions, the share of overall workers who usually work both at home and outside the home increased from 6.4% in May 2022 to 10.0% in May 2023. This proportion has changed little and remained at 10.0% in May 2025. However, these workers are working a growing share of their hours outside the home. The proportion of them who worked at least half their hours outside the home during the Labour Force Survey reference week was 44.7% in May 2025, up from 43.0% in May 2024 and 40.0% in May 2023,” it said.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
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