This is where Toronto stands among North America’s most congested cities

TomTom's annual traffic index reveals Toronto is the second-most traffic-laden city across Canada and among the top 10 across North America.

Out of the 365 days last year, drivers lost roughly four of them being stuck in Toronto’s traffic, according to a new study.

TomTom, which released its annual traffic index last week, ranked Toronto second on the list of most congested cities across Canada, following behind only Vancouver.

The time Toronto drivers lost during rush hour in 2025 amounted to four days and four hours (100 hours), according to the index. That’s three hours and 50 minutes more than 2024.

In 2023, however, Toronto was named the worst city in North America for traffic—so there have been some slight improvements, the director of the University of Toronto’s Infrastructure Institute noted.

“I think we have to acknowledge that, at least compared to our peers, we seem to be dropping in this ranking,” Matti Siemiatycki said in an interview with CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.

“This doesn’t mean that everything is hunky-dory and we should just go on trying to solve other problems. Congestion is clearly still a major issue in this city and losing 100 hours a year for commuters is a huge amount and is a drag on people’s quality of life in the economy.”

The index, according to the company, analyzed congestion levels, travel times and speeds across the globe to calculate its data. Over the year, TomTom said it anonymously collected drivers within the larger metropolitan areas and central city areas.

Drivers spend more time making their way back home compared to heading to work, according to the data. Based on the index, it takes roughly 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometres in the morning rush, whereas in the evening, it takes around 34 minutes to travel the same distance.

According to the index, the average travel time to drive 10 kilometres in central Toronto takes about 26 minutes and 40 seconds, which is a minute and eight seconds longer than in 2024. When it’s rush hour, drivers move an average of 18.9 kilometres per hour, and then when it’s highway driving, cars are moving an average of 53.6 kilometres per hour.

Compared to Vancouver, it takes an average of 28 minutes and 34 seconds to drive 10 kilometres in the city, with drivers moving about 18.3 kilometres per hour during rush hour—slightly faster than Toronto.

“They have a geography issue because they’re bisected by water, right? The bridges are, really, a pinch point,” Siemiatycki said of the west coast city, noting how the lack of tolls on these overpasses does not put a lever on demand.

Toronto still ranked high across North America, placing ninth overall, though the index notes the city dropped two places from 2024 “thanks to local congestion improvement and intensified congestion in several U.S. and Mexican cities.”

Mexico City ranked highest in the continent with congestion levels at 75.9 per cent, which represents the increase in travel time due to excess traffic. Guadalajara is second up, at 63.3 per cent, followed by Los Angeles, at 59.8 per cent.

Causes for Toronto’s traffic

Ongoing roadwork and more people on the roads are contributing causes for slowing down traffic in Toronto, Dr. Mahtot Gebresselassie explains.

“The reason why the congestion happens is, of course, when you have the amount of traffic is richer than the roads can handle,” the director of the accessible transportation and technology lab at York University said in an interview Tuesday.

“That means there are more people driving than the roads can handle. That’s one reason and, of course, we also have road infrastructure limitation.”

Major weather events, like Toronto’s back-to-back snowstorms that yielded around 88 centimetres of snowfall this January, can also play a factor in congestion, Gebresselassie noted.

In the City of Toronto’s congestion management update in April, staff noted how Toronto’s existing 5,600 kilometres of roadway haven’t been expanded in “decades.”

The report also determined construction was the most “exacerbating factor” to white-knuckling traffic in the city. As of April 1, however, companies are expected to pay a fee of $76.51 in order to occupy roadway for construction and an additional $40.71 for every 50 metres per lane, per day.

• READ MORE: ‘The most exacerbating factor’: Construction largely to blame for Toronto traffic, report says

The report also noted how Toronto’s population grew by more than 125,000 people between 2022 and 2023, with vehicle registrations soaring by 26 per cent since 2014.

The latest data from Statistics Canada revealed 992 people left Toronto between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025, the first year since 2001 where the city—and several other urban centres—didn’t welcome more people.

Even though Toronto’s population might have nominally dwindled, more Ontarians have been asked to return to the office full-time.

• READ MORE: ‘There’s a very real human toll to the commute’: Workers prepare for longer drives amid push for return to office

Sixty thousand Ontario Public Services employees are now expected to work in-office five days a week as of January, with Rogers Communications workers following suit in February.

“If people are forced to work five days a week, yes, of course, we expect increased travel,” Gebresselassie said.

“The reason is the following because just in general in North America, the most common mode of transportation is driving. Therefore, it makes sense that we expect the driving to increase and therefore traffic congestion as a result to increase, unfortunately.”

Boosted transit, congestion charge

To ease the flow of traffic throughout Toronto, Siemiatycki says public transit is supposed to act as an alternative to driving, though some recent developments have not quite met the mark.

“That’s the ultimate solution, we need to have transit that provides a viable alternative,” Siemiatycki said, commenting on how the Finch West LRT moves “slower than the bus.”

“It’s just like a microcosm of the issues that we’re facing with transit, where it has to be fast and reliable and that’s, I think, another area where if we’re going to fight congestion and gridlock, we need to be providing people with viable other alternatives or else we’re always going to be stuck in this jam.”

Another means of easing traffic strains across Toronto’s thoroughfares is by, potentially, following New York City’s example of implementing a congestion charge, Siemiatycki notes.

• READ MORE: Manhattan has seen almost 50,000 fewer cars per day thanks to a congestion charge. Should Toronto consider it?

Last January, Manhattan imposed a US$9 congestion charge for all vehicles travelling south of Central Park during peak times on weekdays and weekends, with tolls costing US$2.25 in off hours.

“New York has experienced an eight to 10 per cent improvement with road pricing,” Siemiatycki said. “If it can work in the Big Apple, it can work anywhere.”

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras