Road Deaths in Canada

Quick answer: 1,964 people died in motor vehicle collisions in Canada in 2023, up 1.7% from 2022 and the highest count in ten years. That is 4.9 deaths per 100,000 people and 4.5 per billion vehicle-kilometres. Another 9,261 people were seriously injured. Among the provinces, New Brunswick (8.5) and Prince Edward Island (8.1) had the highest death rates per 100,000 people and Ontario the lowest (3.9).

1,964

Deaths in 2023

+1.7% on 2022

9,261

Serious injuries

admitted to hospital

4.9

Deaths per 100k people

4.5 per billion vehicle-km

21.9%

Fatal crashes with impairment

alcohol or drugs, estimated

By province · 2023

Road death rates by province and territory

Transport Canada publishes rates, not counts, for each province. Per billion vehicle-kilometres adjusts for how much people drive; per 100,000 licensed drivers adjusts for how many drive.

Province / territory	Deaths per 100k people	2022	Per billion vehicle-km	Per 100k licensed drivers	Injuries per 100k people
Yukon	19.8	4.6	11.0	27.0	589.5
Northwest Territories	9.0	2.2	8.0	14.9	190.2
New Brunswick	8.5	6.2	8.1	12.8	257.5
Prince Edward Island	8.1	10.8	8.4	10.8	287.3
Newfoundland and Labrador	7.8	6.6	8.3	10.6	408.2
Saskatchewan	7.6	8.8	5.9	11.0	445.9
Alberta	6.4	6.1	4.9	8.4	379.9
British Columbia	5.5	5.6	6.2	7.9	230.7
Manitoba	5.4	5.5	4.7	8.1	517.7
Nova Scotia	5.3	6.9	4.6	6.9	567.6
Quebec	4.3	4.5	4.7	6.4	317.1
Ontario	3.9	4.0	3.4	5.3	231.0
Nunavut	2.5	2.5	20.8	9.2	39.3
Canada	4.9	5.0	4.5	6.9	296.5

Province names link to live official traffic incidents where a feed exists. Territories have small populations, so one crash moves their rates a lot. Nunavut's rate per vehicle-km is high because very little driving is done there.

By year

Road deaths and injuries in Canada, 2004–2023

Year	Deaths	Fatal collisions	Serious injuries	All injuries
2023	1,964	1,768	9,261	118,838
2022	1,931	1,762	9,179	123,317
2021	1,768	1,628	8,321	108,552
2020	1,746	1,602	7,981	104,265
2019	1,756	1,620	8,602	139,084
2018	1,939	1,754	9,456	149,065
2017	1,861	1,698	10,104	152,773
2016	1,900	1,738	10,573	158,854
2015	1,887	1,693	10,835	160,806
2014	1,841	1,675	10,445	156,557
2013	1,951	1,772	10,662	164,525
2012	2,075	1,848	11,104	166,727
2011	2,023	1,849	10,940	167,741
2010	2,238	2,021	11,796	172,081
2009	2,216	2,007	11,955	170,770
2008	2,431	2,193	12,851	176,394
2007	2,753	2,455	14,410	192,745
2006	2,871	2,586	16,044	199,976
2005	2,898	2,551	15,792	204,701
2004	2,735	2,438	15,572	206,104

Who dies

Deaths by road user and by age

Road user	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Drivers	849	835	839	932	1,025
Passengers	316	271	274	315	301
Pedestrians	301	286	307	298	298
Bicyclists	39	51	47	46	47
Motorcyclists	195	242	230	251	229
Not stated/Other	56	61	71	89	64
Total	1,756	1,746	1,768	1,931	1,964

Age (2023)	Deaths	Serious injuries	All injuries
0–4	12	75	1,548
5–14	38	319	4,760
15–19	136	768	9,855
20–24	164	950	12,333
25–34	336	1,712	22,572
35–44	285	1,400	18,881
45–54	246	1,246	16,121
55–64	292	1,189	14,305
65 +	446	1,297	14,863
Not stated	9	99	3,600

Causes

Contributing factors in fatal collisions

Share of fatal collisions where each factor was recorded. A collision can have several factors, so the columns add up to more than 100%.

Factor	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Distraction	20.8%	21.1%	22.5%	20.4%	17.8%
Speed / Driving too Fast	23.8%	25.1%	26.5%	22.6%	24.8%
Impaired / Under the Influence	18.3%	20.0%	16.6%	19.6%	21.9%
Fatigue	3.4%	3.2%	3.0%	2.9%	3.3%
Other Human Factor	68.5%	61.2%	62.3%	68.4%	62.9%
Environmental Factor	23.2%	19.6%	20.5%	21.6%	20.1%
Vehicle Factor	4.3%	3.7%	3.3%	3.5%	3.0%
No Contributing Factors	27.7%	23.1%	25.1%	27.3%	28.3%
Drivers killed not wearing a seat belt	25.6%	33.2%	28.6%	29.1%	32.6%
Passengers killed not wearing a seat belt	29.8%	39.2%	35.6%	34.7%	32.0%

Questions

Road deaths in Canada — FAQ

How many people die on Canadian roads each year?

1,964 people died in motor vehicle collisions in Canada in 2023, up 1.7% from 2022 (1,931). That is about 5.4 deaths a day. Transport Canada called it the highest count in ten years.

Are road deaths in Canada going up?

Deaths have risen since the pandemic low: 1,746 in 2020, 1,768 in 2021, 1,931 in 2022 and 1,964 in 2023. Over the longer run they are down from 2,735 in 2004, and the rate per 100,000 people was 4.9 in 2023.

Which province has the most dangerous roads?

By deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, the highest among the ten provinces were New Brunswick (8.5), Prince Edward Island (8.1) and Newfoundland and Labrador (7.8); the lowest were Ontario (3.9), Quebec (4.3) and Nova Scotia (5.3). The territories have very small numbers, so their rates swing a lot from year to year (Yukon was 19.8 in 2023 but 4.6 in 2022).

What is the safest province to drive in?

Ontario had the lowest death rate of the provinces in 2023 on both measures: 3.9 per 100,000 people and 3.4 per billion vehicle-kilometres, against a national 4.9 and 4.5.

How many road deaths in Canada involve impaired driving?

Transport Canada estimates impairment by alcohol or drugs was a factor in 21.9% of fatal collisions in 2023, speed in 24.8% and distraction in 17.8%. A collision can have more than one factor, and the estimates come from a subset of provinces.

How many people killed in Canada were not wearing a seat belt?

32.6% of drivers and 32% of passengers killed in 2023 were not wearing a seat belt.

Which age group has the most road deaths in Canada?

People aged 65 and over had the most deaths in 2023 (446), followed by 25–34 (336). Drivers were 52.2% of those killed, pedestrians 15.2% and motorcyclists 11.7%.

Are more fatal crashes in cities or in the country?

More fatal collisions happen in rural areas: 932 rural against 799 urban in 2023, even though most injury collisions (65,834) are urban. Higher speeds make rural crashes more deadly.

Source: Transport Canada, Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2023 (page modified 2025-05-15) and the 2022 edition for the 2022 provincial rates. Data for Ontario and Alberta are preliminary for 2023 and data for New Brunswick were estimated (Transport Canada). Earlier years are shown as revised in the 2023 edition, so they can differ slightly from older editions. Contributing-factor and commercial-vehicle figures are estimated by Transport Canada from a subset of provinces and territories; a fatal collision can have more than one factor. See the methodology.