Transportation in Canada

Canada's vast land mass and widely dispersed population make an efficient and accessible transportation system particularly important to connect people and facilitate economic activity.

The multi-modal transportation system consists of a number of strategic assets and networks that span all regions of the country.

Air
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  • Over 1,400 air carriers operating in, or to and from Canada (40% Canadian, 60% international)
  • Nearly 37,000 Canadian registered aircraft and over 25,000 licensed pilots
  • 296 certified land airports, 5 certified water airports, and 264 certified heliports
  • 26 National Airports System airports and 71 regional/local airports
  • 89 airports designated for Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) security screening and 564 certified aerodromes
  • $31 billion in annual revenues generated pre-pandemic by the third largest aerospace sector in the world, creating over 215,000 jobs in Canada

Rail
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  • Canada has two major Class I railways, Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC); large US-based carriers also operate in Canada
  • 43,461 route-kilometres of railway track:
    • Canadian National (CN) owns 50.1% (21,774 km)
    • Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) owns 30.1% (13,082 km)
    • other railways own 19.2% (8,345 km)
  • Moved more than 315 million tonnes of freight in 2022
  • VIA Rail Canada Inc. carried 3.3 million passengers in 2022, below pre-pandemic levels, but increased from 2021

Marine
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  • Over 42,000 active registered commercial vessels, including 6,100 active tugs and barges operating in Canada
  • Close to 20,000 registered pleasure crafts
  • Over 560 port facilities, excluding fishing and recreational harbours, of which 17 are Canada Port Authorities (CPAs)
  • In 2022, across all CPAs, the total volume of cargo handled was over 339.7 million tonnes (a 1.3% decrease from 2021), with approximately 42% handled by the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest and busiest port

Road
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  • Most dominant mode for moving freight and passengers in Canada
  • Over 25 million road vehicles registered in Canada
  • More than 1.1 million two-lane equivalent lane-kilometres of public road