How did you get to school today? If you walked or biked, your trip used almost no fuel and very little space. If you came in a car, you were part of the biggest reason transportation is one of Canada's largest sources of greenhouse gases: in 2024 it produced about 22 percent of Canada's emissions, second only to the oil and gas sector (Environment and Climate Change Canada). Transportation also decides who can reach jobs, schools and health care, how much land is paved, and how goods reach store shelves. Because transportation systems last for generations, the choices communities make now will shape daily life for decades.
Comparing ways of getting around
| Mode | Emissions per passenger-kilometre | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Walking | Close to zero | Needs sidewalks, safe crossings and destinations nearby |
| National rail (train) | About 35 g CO₂e | Electric trains on a clean grid can be much lower |
| Petrol car, one person | About 170 g CO₂e | Falls per person when the car is shared; an electric car on a clean grid is much lower while driving |
| Domestic flight | About 246 g CO₂e | Includes the extra warming effect of emissions high in the atmosphere |
Emissions are only one measure. A car carrying one person needs far more road space than the same person on a bus, a bike or a train, and it spends most of the day parked, taking up still more land in driveways and parking lots. Transit only works well where enough people live and work close to stops, which is why transportation and land use (Lessons 1 and 2) must be planned together. Building more highway lanes often fills them again within a few years, because faster roads encourage more driving and more spread-out development; planners call this induced demand.
Local and regional systems
- Active transportation: sidewalks, multi-use trails and protected bike lanes make walking and cycling safe and practical for short trips; many Canadian cities have expanded cycling networks and bike-share systems.
- Light rail transit (LRT): electric trains running mostly in their own lanes or tunnels. Ottawa's Confederation Line and Waterloo Region's ION both opened in 2019; in Toronto, Line 6 Finch West opened on December 7, 2025, and Line 5 Eglinton opened on February 8, 2026, after more than a decade of construction and repeated delays.
- Subways: high-capacity lines such as the Ontario Line, under construction in Toronto, carry many more riders but cost far more per kilometre to build.
- Regional rail: GO Expansion is Metrolinx's long-term plan to bring two-way, all-day GO train service every 15 minutes or better on the busiest sections of the network, with electrification planned for some lines; the project has faced delays and changes to its scope.
- Rural and northern links: in rural areas, intercity buses and on-demand transit fill gaps; many northern communities depend on air service, seasonal winter roads over frozen lakes and muskeg, and summer barges or sealift.
Climate change and northern winter roads
Winter roads built over frozen lakes and muskeg connect dozens of First Nations in northern Ontario and Manitoba to the outside world for a few weeks each year. Warmer winters are shortening the season and making the ice less safe, so communities must fly in more fuel and supplies at much higher cost. This is one reason some communities are pushing for all-season roads, while others weigh the effects of a road on land, wildlife and their way of life.
National and international connections
| System | Role | Sustainability questions |
|---|---|---|
| Ports | The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest port; Montréal, Prince Rupert and Halifax also link Canada to world markets | Ship emissions and noise for coastal communities and marine life; growing trade with Asia |
| Airports | Toronto Pearson is Canada's busiest airport (about 47 million passengers in 2025) | Air travel has high emissions per passenger-km and few low-carbon alternatives so far |
| Rail freight | CN and CPKC move grain, potash, containers and oil across the country and into the United States | Rail is far more fuel-efficient per tonne than trucking, but rail safety near communities is a concern |
| Highways and trucking | Highway 401 is one of the busiest truck routes in North America, carrying trade with the US | Congestion, emissions and pressure to widen roads through farmland |
| High-speed rail (proposed) | Alto, announced by the federal government in February 2025, would link Toronto and Québec City (about 1,000 km) with electric trains at up to about 300 km/h, via Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval and Trois-Rivières (Kingston is being studied as a possible stop) | Faster, lower-emission trips than driving or flying, but very high costs, a long timeline and effects on farmland, the Canadian Shield and communities along the route |
Alto: where things stand
As of 2026 Alto is in its design and consultation phase; no final route has been chosen. Its planners have said the first segment would be between Ottawa and Montréal, with construction expected to begin around 2029 and the full line taking until the 2040s. The government's early estimate was 60 to 90 billion dollars; in 2026 the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated construction alone at 75 to 113 billion dollars and warned that overruns were likely. Supporters point to faster travel, lower emissions and less pressure on highways and airports; critics question the cost and whether ridership will justify it.
Assessing any transportation option
Use the four perspectives. Environmental: emissions, land paved, effects on farmland, water and wildlife. Social: who gains access (students, seniors, people with disabilities, people who cannot afford a car) and who is displaced or left out. Economic: building and operating costs, fares, time saved, jobs and trade. Political: which government pays and decides, and how affected communities, including First Nations, are consulted.