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Montreal traffic is bad but somehow 4 Canadian cities have it even worse
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/traffic-on-jacques-cartier-bridge-crossing-saint-lawrence-river-in-montreal.jpg?id=56655037&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=45%2C0%2C45%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>If you've ever been stuck on Décarie at rush hour, you might think <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/montreal-traffic" target="_blank">Montreal has the worst traffic</a> in Canada. But new data says otherwise — four other Canadian cities are even bigger gridlock nightmares.</p><p><a href="https://www.tomtom.com/traffic-index/ranking/" target="_blank">TomTom's 2024 Traffic Index</a> ranked 13 <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/quebec-canada-quality-life-montreal" target="_blank">Canadian cities</a> based on real-world GPS data from 737 billion kilometres driven last year. And while Montreal didn't escape the top five, we dodged the worst of it.</p><h2>Canada's worst cities for traffic</h2><p>Vancouver took the top spot, with an average travel time of 27 minutes and 3 seconds per 10 km — meaning commuters lose 86 hours a year just sitting in rush hour. Toronto came second at 25 minutes and 13 seconds, followed by Halifax (23:31) and Winnipeg (23:01).</p><p>With its sea of orange traffic cones and <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/quebec-weather-spring-forecast" target="_blank">heavy snowfall</a>, Montreal landed in fifth place, with an average of 22 minutes and 9 seconds per 10 km and a congestion level of 28%. That adds up to 70 hours a year lost in traffic — frustrating, but still better than the worst offenders.</p><p>To put things in perspective, Canada's most traffic-clogged cities aren't nearly as bad as the world's worst. Vancouver, which holds the title for Canada's most congested city, sits at 69th place globally — a far cry from major gridlock hotspots like London (#5), New York City (#25), and Barranquilla, Colombia (#1).</p><p>Here's how all 13 Canadian cities included in TomTom's 2024 Traffic Index ranked:<br/></p><ol><li>Vancouver — 27 min 3 s per 10 km, 35% congestion, 86 hours lost per year</li><li>Toronto — 25 min 13 s, 31% congestion, 77 hours lost</li><li>Halifax — 23 min 31 s, 30% congestion, 83 hours lost</li><li>Winnipeg — 23 min 1 s, 26% congestion, 74 hours lost</li><li>Montreal — 22 min 9 s, 28% congestion, 70 hours lost</li><li>London — 20 min 22 s, 28% congestion, 60 hours lost</li><li>Edmonton — 19 min 49 s, 21% congestion, 50 hours lost</li><li>Calgary — 18 min 11 s, 23% congestion, 49 hours lost</li><li>Ottawa — 16 min 56 s, 26% congestion, 55 hours lost</li><li>Hamilton — 16 min 46 s, 21% congestion, 39 hours lost</li><li>Quebec City — 16 min 41 s, 25% congestion, 49 hours lost</li><li>Waterloo — 16 min 27 s, 19% congestion, 31 hours lost</li><li>Kitchener — 14 min 50 s, 18% congestion, 26 hours lost</li></ol><p>Interestingly, many Canadian cities ranked worse for traffic than some major global hubs, including Miami (#281), Bangkok (#161) and even Los Angeles (#329).</p><p>TomTom's report factors in both static elements, like road design and speed limits, and unpredictable ones, like accidents, construction, and weather. </p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em> <p><br/></p><em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em><p><br/></p>
