Do I need a car when I come to Canada?

The decision to get a car can impact a newcomer’s life in many ways, from their work life to their personal life.

Accordingly, this decision often depends on a variety of factors.

For instance, some questions a newcomer may ask themselves before making this decision are:

How much does it cost?
Does my family situation mean I require a car?
Does my work situation mean I require a car?
How important is travel flexibility to me and my family?

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Ultimately, the choice to buy a car in Canada is personal and influenced by multiple factors.

Proximity to Public Transit

Many Canadian newcomers settle in metropolitan areas such as Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.

In these situations, it is common for newcomers to be within 500 metres of a public transportation access point, whether a bus, subway or another vehicle.

According to Statistics Canada data from 2020, over 80% of the population in the following 16 Canadian metropolitan areas lived within 500 metres of a public transportation access point.

Toronto, Ontario (ON): 93%
Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.): 92.7%
Montreal, Quebec (QC): 91.6%
Regina, Saskatchewan (SK): 90.4%
Victoria, B.C.: 90.4%
Calgary, Alberta (AB): 88.9%
Oshawa, ON: 88.7%
Winnipeg, Manitoba (MB): 88.2%
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, ON: 86.2%
Ottawa, ON: 85%
Guelph, ON: 83.5%
Quebec, QC: 83.1%
Edmonton, AB: 82.7%
Saskatoon, SK: 82.6%
Hamilton, ON: 81.1%
St. Catherines-Niagara, ON: 80.9%

Therefore, newcomers to Canada who settle in a region with good access to public transportation may decide against buying a car if public transportation can effectively help them travel.

Family Size

Newcomers may come to Canada with family members and this can impact how they get around. Single travellers (or newcomers living in a pair) are less likely to need their own vehicle than newcomers who come to Canada with a larger group.

Note: For newcomers looking for alternatives to a car, some consideration should be given to car-sharing services as well as ridesharing through Uber or Lyft.

Cost

Being a newcomer to Canada involves handling many expenses simultaneously. From finding a place to live to buying groceries and even paying for school (in the case of international students), newcomers already have a lot to handle financially before they even consider purchasing a car.

Although prices associated with leasing a car will vary based on the make and model of the vehicle, ratehub.ca data from January 2024 suggests that the average monthly cost of car ownership in Canada is $1,387.

Note: This value is based on a collection of average costs including gas and maintenance to car insurance and parking.

Safety and car theft in Canada

Even if newcomers decide to buy a car, there is still some risk due to the rise of car theft across Canada.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, car theft in this country has risen to the point that Canadian auto insurers in the private sector paid out $1.5 billion in theft claims throughout 2023.

To put this in perspective, the Bureau says that this figure is a 254% increase from just five years ago (2018) and that, between 2018 and 2021, auto theft claims cost private insurers just $556 million per year.

Work Situation

Newcomer’s may also evaluate their daily commute. This is because, as an example, someone who works from home is less likely to need a car than someone who must commute to their place of employment.

Travel Flexibility

Travel flexibility is the term used to describe the comparative freedom that a newcomer with a car will have to travel where and when they want. This level of freedom will be different for someone without a car (or their own vehicle more generally).

Without their own car, newcomers will more likely:

Only be able to travel according to the public transportation schedules in their region
Be forced to pay to use ridesharing services when they need to get to a different location

This can be a restrictive and/or costly way to navigate a newcomer’s community, run errands or just explore more of Canada.

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