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2008 Canadian Vehicle Survey Update Report

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Chapter 2. Geographic analysis

This chapter highlights regional variations in the characteristics of the vehicle fleet across Canada.

2.1 Composition of the on-road vehicle fleet in Canada’s provinces and territories

Growth in vehicles from 2000 to 2008 was highest in Alberta (an average annual growth rate of 3.6 percent). Growth in the remaining provinces was around 1.5 to 2 percent per year except for most of the Atlantic Region, where growth was around 1 percent per year.

Figure 4 shows the number of vehicles in Canada for 2000 and 2008, by region. Vehicle distribution is highly correlated with population: together, Ontario and Quebec accounted for almost 60 percent of the Canadian fleet in 2008, with more than 7 million vehicles in Ontario and 4.6 million in Quebec. The Prairies accounted for an additional 4.2 million vehicles (19 percent), British Columbia, 2.7 million (13 percent) and the Atlantic provinces, 1.4 million (7 percent).

Figure 4 Vehicles in Canada by region, 2000 and 2008.

Figure 5 shows the average number of light vehicles per household for each region in Canada. Vehicle ownership was highest in Alberta and Saskatchewan, with an average of 1.87 and 1.79 vehicles per household, respectively. Quebec had the lowest vehicle ownership rate of 1.34 vehicles per household. The Canadian average was just fewer than 1.5 vehicles per household.

Figure 5 Light vehicles per household by jurisdiction, 2008.

2.2 Variation in distance travelled among regions

Figure 6 shows the average annual distance travelled by light vehicles in each jurisdiction. In 2008, light (km) in Canada. Light vehicles were driven the furthest in Newfoundland and Labrador (18 100 km) and the least in British Columbia (13 100 km). Some of the factors which may contribute to these differences include access to and density of the road network, alternative transportation options, vehicle ownership rate and climate.

Figure 6 Average annual distance travelled by light vehicles by jurisdiction, 2008.

The average annual distance travelled by medium trucks was greatest in Quebec (25 500 km) and was also more than 20 000 km in New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta (see Figure 7). It was only 13 200 km in Saskatchewan.

Figure 7 Average annual distance travelled by medium trucks by jurisdiction, 2008.

The CVS data show that heavy trucks were generally driven much further than other vehicle types (Figure 8). Average annual distances exceeded 90 000 km in Quebec, and 80 000 km in Ontario and Manitoba. Heavy trucks travelled much shorter distances in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Figure 8 Average annual distance travelled by heavy trucks by jurisdiction, 2008.

Numerous factors likely contribute to the observed variation in distance travelled among regions for medium and heavy trucks, including structure of the economy, geographic size, geographic range of trucking operations and vehicle ownership rate.

2.3 Provincial fuel consumption rates

Substantial regional variation exists in the fuel consumption rates of light vehicles (Figure 9). In 2008, the average fuel consumption rate of gasoline-powered light vehicles in Canada was 10.6 L/100 km.7,8 Fuel consumption was below the Canadian average in all of Eastern Canada, while it was above average for all provinces west of Ontario. Numerous factors may influence these variations, including the composition and age of the vehicle fleet, fuel prices and patterns of vehicle use. In British Columbia and the Prairies, the vehicle fleet contained a greater proportion of vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks than in the rest of Canada. The vehicle fleet in these regions also had a higher proportion of older vehicles.

Figure 9 Fuel consumption rate of gasoline-powered light vehicles by jurisdiction, 2008.

Figure 10 and Figure 11 show the diesel consumption rate of medium and heavy trucks, respectively. Medium truck fuel consumption ranged from 22.2 to 25.7 L/100 km and heavy truck fuel consumption ranged from 33.1 to 39.5 L/100 km.

Figure 10 Diesel consumption rate of medium trucks by jurisdiction, 2008.

Figure 11 Diesel consumption rate of heavy trucks by jurisdiction, 2008.

New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia heavy truck fleets had the highest consumption rates (more than 38 L/100 km). As shown in the previous section, heavy trucks also travelled less distance on average in these provinces than in the rest of the country. Therefore, their higher fuel consumption rates could be partly explained by a lower ratio of highway driving relative to city driving (fuel economy tends to be greater for highway driving than for city driving ). Most of the other provinces had fuel consumption rates of 34 to 35 L/100 km, with the exception of Manitoba (33.1 L/100 km).

7 The fuel consumption rate for diesel-powered light vehibles is not shown because the data are of too poor quality to publish.

8 Fuel consumption data are not available for the territories.

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