Vancouver is the most congested city in Canada
Vancouver was the most congested city in Canada in 2025 and is in the top 50 most congested cities worldwide, according to the TomTom Traffic Index.
In North America, it ranks fourth, behind the populous cities of Los Angeles, Guadalajara, and Mexico City.
TomTom collected anonymized GPS data and real driving speeds in 492 cities worldwide, and calculated congestion by looking at all the travel times they’ve recorded in a given period of time in a specific area. Then, they compare them with the lowest travel times, when traffic is free-flowing.
They measure congestion as a percentage, representing the increase in travel time due to excess traffic.
For example, Vancouver’s 2025 congestion level was 56.5 per cent—meaning that drivers spent an additional 56.6 percent more time on the roads due to traffic.
The worst times to be on the road
Within Vancouver during morning rush hour, it took 29 minutes and 33 seconds to travel 10 kilometres, 64.6 per cent more time than it would if there was free-flowing traffic. The average speed was 20.3 kilometres per hour.
During evening rush hour, 10 kilometres took 35 minutes and 18 seconds, an additional six minutes from the morning and a 90.4 per cent congestion level. The average speed was 17 kilometres per hour.
Within Metro Vancouver, travel time picks up slightly. During morning rush hour, drivers’ average speed was 29.4 kilometres per hour and 25.2 during evening rush hour.
However, Metro Vancouver drivers are still cruising substantially slower than they would be without traffic. Morning rush hour congestion is at 62.7 per cent, and evening is at 83.4 per cent.
How does Vancouver rank against other cities?
TomTom Traffic Index Report
Vancouverites lost 112 hours to traffic in rush hour in 2025. In Toronto, the second most congested city in Canada, drivers lost 100 hours. Halifax is third, with drivers losing 111 hours.
On a country level, Canada is even more congested than the U.S., with a percentage of 22 compared to 19 per cent.
The world’s most congested city was Mexico City, at 75.9 per cent.