Winnipeg has highest percentage of commuters in Canada, StatsCan says

ManitobaMore Winnipeggers commute to work than workers in any other major Canadian city, new data from Statistics Canada says.9 in 10 Winnipeggers spend majority of work hours outside the home, new data saysCBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2025 1:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours agoNew data from Statistics Canada says Winnipeg has the highest percentage of commuters among major metropolitan areas in Canada. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)More Winnipeggers commute to work compared to workers in any other major Canadian city, new per capita data from Statistics Canada says. Nine in 10 Winnipeg workers are regular commuters who spend most of their work hours outside of the home at workplaces, says a Statistics Canada report released on Tuesday. The report pulled from the agency’s annual Labour Force Survey, which surveyed workers age 15 to 69 living in the 15 most-populated census metropolitan areas in Canada. The city said Winnipeg is “leading the country in the return to regular commuting” in a news release on Wednesday. And while most commuters drive to work, the Statistics Canada data has more Winnipeggers taking public transit to work than during COVID-19 pandemic lows. Just over 11 per cent used public transit in May. About six per cent of Winnipeg commuters use active transportation to get to work, the city says. (Shutterstock / Halfpoint)About six per cent of workers in the city use active transportation such as biking or walking to get to work — the highest level of active transportation users since the pandemic, the city said.Winnipeg commuters spent less time on the road compared to most Canadians, with city workers taking an average of 23.4 minutes to get to their jobs. The average commute time across the country was 26.7 minutes. More than 82 per cent of Canadian workers commuted in May. That’s up from the low of 75 per cent recorded in May 2021 amid some employers’ work-from-home orders. The Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area and Toronto have the lowest commuter rates, with about three in four employees heading into a workplace most days. More from CBC Manitoba: