Montrealers are driving less than almost anyone else in Canada, and here’s why

Between the endless construction zones, rising gas prices, and a sea of potholes that seem to multiply every spring, Montreal isn’t exactly the most enjoyable place to own a car. And apparently, a lot of people are starting to act on that feeling.

New data from Turo’s 2026 State of Car Ownership in Canada report shows that Montrealers average just 4.6 days of driving per week. That’s below the national average of 5 days and well behind Vancouver’s median of 5.2 days. Quebec also saw one of the steepest drops in car ownership in the country over the past year, falling eight percentage points between 2025 and 2026, settling at 79% — below the national average of 85%.

So what’s behind the shift? Cost is a big part of it. Quebec actually has the lowest average cost of car ownership in Canada at $4,067 per year, according to the Turo report, but that doesn’t mean it feels affordable. Nationally, nearly one in ten Canadians say their monthly car expenses are simply more than they can manage, and 32% say they’ve reduced how often they drive just to cope with the costs. Maintenance bills aren’t helping either, rising $113 year-over-year to an average of $1,196 nationwide.

Meanwhile, Montreal is one of the most bike-friendly cities on the continent, allowing for more trips to be taken on two wheels instead of four.

The trade war uncertainty is also making people think twice. According to the same report, 75% of Canadians are worried that tariffs will drive vehicle prices even higher, 30% say they’re less likely to buy a car because of it, and 70% say they won’t purchase an American-made vehicle until Canada-U.S. relations stabilize. Altogether, 11% fewer Canadians plan to buy a car in the next one to three years compared to last year.

Younger people are feeling the squeeze the hardest. Gen Z pays more to own a car than any other generation in Canada, shelling out an average of $5,820 per year according to Turo’s findings. And 36% of Gen Z Canadians don’t own a vehicle at all, compared to just 15% of the general population.

Beyond the dollars and cents, the report also found that 45% of Canadians wish they had better transit options so they wouldn’t need a car in the first place. In a city with a metro system and an extensive bus network, that number probably resonates more here than in most places.

“For decades, car ownership has been the default option in Canada,” Bassem El-Rahimy, Head of Turo Canada, said in the report. “Now we’re seeing that assumption start to shift. People still need access to a car, but they’re questioning whether they need the financial weight that comes with owning one.”

Turo’s State of Car Ownership in Canada study was conducted by the Angus Reid Forum in December 2025, surveying a representative sample of 1,509 Canadians aged 25 and older.