Image description: Road Transportation Network
The map of Canada shows the location of the National Highway System (NHS). The NHS includes over 38,000 kilometers of Canada’s most important highways from coast to coast. Core routes (which represent 72.8 per cent of the NHS) are illustrated by orange lines, Feeder routes (which represent 11.7% of the NHS) by Yellow lines and Northern and Remote routes (which represent 15.5 per cent of the NHS) by purple lines.
Competitiveness and efficiency
In 2023, the cyclical nature of trucking was evident, with a downturn following the post-pandemic consumer spending boom. Passenger and freight volumes normalized; however, the efficiency of national supply chains and trucking services continued to be impacted, as economy and freight industry adopted to the new normal. Passenger volumes continued to recover well along with the return of traffic congestion in major cities. Although demand for freight and trucking services was healthy and inline with previous years, some downward trends in freight demand and freight rates were observed during the year, in part due to inflation, rising interest costs, and overall lower freight demand.
There were 20 merger and acquisition activities, demonstrating a strategic approach to enhancing efficiency, and expanding market reach as an opportunity for future growth.
Safety and security
There has been a significant downward trend in motor vehicle casualties for decades in Canada. Since their peak in the mid-1970s, fatalities have decreased by over two-thirds while serious injuries have declined over 60% even though the number of vehicles and kilometres driven by Canadians have increased significantly.
Over the years, TC has introduced or updated a significant number of vehicle safety standards, regulations, technical standards and test methods concerning vehicle safety features, such as electronic stability control, door lock and door retention, truck anti-lock brakes, steering control systems, head restraints, child restraints, seat anchorage strength, occupant protection in frontal collisions, tires, headlights, rear view mirror visibility, helmet and seatbelt use.
In 2023, TC continued to support the safety and security of the road network with the following initiatives:
- Supported the completion of international guidelines on Functional Safety and Validation Methods for automated driving, and committed to co-sponsoring a new Global Technical Regulation on Automated Driving Systems with international partners through the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.
- Advanced research on driver assistance technologies, simulation and scenarios-based approaches for testing automated vehicle technologies to inform future guidance and regulatory work.
- Continued to advance vehicle cyber security by progressing on the priorities set out in Transport Canada’s Vehicle Cyber Security Strategy including research on emerging issues, such as supply chain cyber security and automotive cyber talent and skills development.
- Continuation of the school bus safety pilot projects and recommendations from the Strengthening School Bus Safety in Canada report from the Task Force on School Bus Safety facilitated the development of the proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette Part I published in July 2022. Stakeholder comments on these proposed regulations are being reviewed with a view to publishing final regulations in 2024.
- The Enhanced Road Safety Transfer Payment Program initiated a new call for proposals to support projects that advance road safety innovation from 2023-26. These projects will support nationally consistent road safety objectives (e.g., measures to address impaired and distracted driving, safe use of new vehicle technologies).
Green transportation
The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change committed the federal government to work with provinces, territories, and industry to explore options for retrofitting heavy-duty vehicles with fuel-saving technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government of Canada released its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) in March 2022, which included several commitments and investments that target emissions from on-road vehicles. In December 2023, the Government of Canada released the 2023 Progress Report on the Emissions Reduction Plan showing Canada’s progress on the path laid out in the ERP:
|
ERP Commitment |
Progress Made |
|---|---|
| Develop zero-emission vehicle sales regulations for both the light-duty vehicle sector and the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector. | Final regulations for light-duty vehicles were released in December 2022. Proposed regulations for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are targeted for Canada Gazette, Part I in 2024. Final regulations are expected in 2025. |
| Invest $1.7 billion to extend and expand the Incentives for ZeroEmission Vehicles (iZEV) Program for light-duty vehicles for 3 years until March 31, 2025 |
The Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program for light-duty vehicles was extended for 3 years until March 31, 2025. The eligibility of several larger vehicles was expanded. Since May 2019, over 330,000 vehicles have been incentivized through the Program. In 2023, Transport Canada made 2 key changes to the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program:
|
| Investing $547.5 million to launch the Incentives for Medium- and HeavyDuty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) Program |
In October 2023, adjustments were made to better ensure program integrity and efficient use of funding towards commercial vehicles. The adjustments include:
|
| Invest $75.8 million to contribute to the safe deployment of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles on Canadian roads | Over $1.3M in contribution funding was approved to gather data on zero-emission truck performance to support the safe deployment of zero-emission trucking technologies. A $1.5 million Trucking Testbed contract was issued to deploy heavy-duty zero-emission trucks into Canadian commercial freight haul operations. Three Zero-Emission Trucking Workshops were hosted to share information and guide future program activities. |
| Invest $199.6 million to retrofit large trucks currently on the road. |
Two streams of the Green Freight Program have been launched to accept applications for funding:
|
| Invest $400 million in support of the Government’s objective of adding zero-emission vehicle chargers to Canada’s network aided by an additional $500 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. | As of June 2023, over 42,000 electric chargers and 16 hydrogen refuelling stations have been selected for funding (over 6,000 have been installed) under the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP). A continuous intake pilot for Indigenous streams of ZEVIP and Awareness programs was also launched in April 2023. |
| Investing $2.2 million to support Greening Government fleet electrification commitments. |
The proportion of green vehicles in the Government of Canada’s lightduty conventional fleet continues to grow. In 2022-23, 14% of the lightduty conventional fleet was green vehicles, up from 10.8% in 2021-2022.
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Progress toward these commitments has helped Canada reach a light-duty zero-emission vehicle market share of 11.7% in 2023. This increased from 8.9% in 2022, 5.6% in 2021, and 3.8% in 2020. Similarly, medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle market share reached 2.1% in 2023. This increased from 0.8% in 2022.
The Government of Canada launched the Zero-Emission Vehicle Council in March 2023 to help decarbonize roads by adopting zero-emission vehicles. This council is helping to track progress towards Canada’s zero-emission vehicle sales targets. It provides advice for improving existing zero-emission vehicle policies or finding other measures to pursue. It’s a solutions-focused group made up of experts from federal, provincial, and territorial governments, industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia.
The council has chosen three areas to focus on first for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles:
- affordability
- charging and refueling
- public and industry confidence
A working group has been created for each area. They will look at barriers, opportunities and find practical solutions. So far, working groups have focused on further research, analysis, environmental scanning, engagement on specific topics, sharing information with relevant stakeholders, identifying programs and policies used in other jurisdictions, and piloting specific projects.
Canada and United States have integrated automotive markets. There needs to be a coordinated approach to reducing transportation emissions on roads. Transport Canada launched the Canada-United States Zero-Emission Vehicle Taskforce in February 2023.
The taskforce advances zero-emission vehicle goals shared between Canada and the US. It focuses on key areas of the zero-emission vehicle transition, such as charging and awareness, Indigenous engagement and changing medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero emission vehicles. The taskforce has led to creating the first binational alternative fuels corridor between Kalamazoo and Quebec City.