Here's how Calgary's commute time stacks up against other Canadian spots

There are few things worse than being stuck in traffic, and luckily, Calgary’s commute time is nowhere near the worst in Canada.

Newly released data from Statistics Canada revealed that although average commuting times fell both during and after the pandemic due to fewer commuters and more people working from home, that came to an end in May of this year.

StatCan says the average commute time to work for regular commuters was 26.4 minutes, which is on par with the previous high of 26.3 minutes that was reached in May 2016.

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Calgary ranked sixth out of the 15 census metropolitan areas, with an average commute time of 25.3 minutes.

Statistics Canada

The longest average commutes were in Toronto at 33.3 minutes, Oshawa at 32.6 minutes, and Barrie at 30.7 minutes.

The shortest average commute time was in Lethbridge, clocking in at 16.6 minutes.

StatCan added in a release that the share of commuters with a long commute of 60 minutes or more increased for the third year in a row in May 2024, following a notable drop during the pandemic.

In May 2024, 9.2% of all commuters had a long commute, up from 8.7% in May 2023 and 8.1% in May 2022. The share of commuters with a long commute in May 2024 was comparable to May 2016 levels before the pandemic.