This study compares e-bike and electric scooter search demand across 12 major Canadian cities. We pulled monthly search volumes from Google Ads via Street Rides keyword research in May 2026. Then we ranked each city by total volume and per-capita intensity. The result is a clear picture of where Canadians search for e-bikes versus e-scooters.
An e-bike is a bicycle with a battery-powered motor. An electric scooter is a standing platform with handlebars and a motor. Both are popular last-mile transport options. But one dominates Canadian search demand by a wide margin.
The Canadian e-bike market hit $1.17 billion in 2025. It is on track to reach $1.32 billion in 2026. That growth shows up clearly in search data. Canadians search for e-bikes almost twice as often as e-scooters in every city we studied.
| Cities analyzed | 12 |
| Total monthly e-bike searches | 98,640 |
| Total monthly e-scooter searches | 55,340 |
| National e-bike to e-scooter ratio | 1.78:1 |
| Highest per-capita city | Victoria (3,261 per 100K) |
We measured monthly search volumes for e-bike and e-scooter queries in 12 Canadian cities. The table below shows every city ranked by total e-bike search volume. We also calculated the ratio and e-bike share percentage for each city.
| Rank | City | E-Bike Searches | E-Scooter Searches | Total | Ratio | E-Bike Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto | 29,700 | 16,200 | 45,900 | 1.83 | 64.7% |
| 2 | Calgary | 13,200 | 7,200 | 20,400 | 1.83 | 64.7% |
| 3 | Vancouver | 10,800 | 4,800 | 15,600 | 2.25 | 69.2% |
| 4 | Ottawa | 8,700 | 4,800 | 13,500 | 1.81 | 64.4% |
| 5 | Montreal | 8,700 | 4,800 | 13,500 | 1.81 | 64.4% |
| 6 | Edmonton | 7,200 | 5,800 | 13,000 | 1.24 | 55.4% |
| 7 | Winnipeg | 5,700 | 3,800 | 9,500 | 1.50 | 60.0% |
| 8 | Hamilton | 4,800 | 3,200 | 8,000 | 1.50 | 60.0% |
| 9 | Halifax | 3,900 | 2,000 | 5,900 | 1.95 | 66.1% |
| 10 | Victoria | 3,000 | 1,440 | 4,440 | 2.08 | 67.6% |
| 11 | Saskatoon | 1,770 | 960 | 2,730 | 1.84 | 64.8% |
| 12 | Quebec City | 1,170 | 340 | 1,510 | 3.44 | 77.5% |
| TOTAL | 98,640 | 55,340 | 153,980 | 1.78 | 64.1% |
Source: Street Rides keyword research Google Ads keyword data, May 2026. Volumes represent monthly averages for each metro area.
Toronto dominates with 29,700 monthly e-bike searches. That is 30% of the national total from a single city. Calgary sits second at 13,200. Vancouver follows at 10,800. These three cities alone produce 54% of all e-bike search demand we tracked.
Toronto also leads in raw e-scooter volume at 16,200 per month. But the ratio stays consistent at 1.83:1. Size drives the numbers here. Toronto has the largest population of any Canadian city.
Vancouver stands out for a different reason. Its 2.25:1 ratio is the third highest on the list. The city has strong bike infrastructure and mild winters. Both factors push residents toward e-bikes over e-scooters.
Ottawa and Montreal tie at 8,700 e-bike searches each. Both show a 1.81:1 ratio. Edmonton follows at 7,200 e-bike searches but has the lowest ratio on the list at 1.24:1. E-scooters compete harder in Edmonton than anywhere else in Canada.
Winnipeg and Hamilton both show 1.50:1 ratios. These cities sit at 5,700 and 4,800 e-bike searches per month. The 60/40 split between e-bikes and e-scooters shows balanced demand in mid-sized Prairie and Ontario cities.
Halifax generates 3,900 e-bike searches per month. Victoria produces 3,000. Saskatoon and Quebec City round out the bottom with 1,770 and 1,170. Lower volume does not mean lower interest. Victoria has the highest per-capita search rate of any city on this list. Quebec City has the strongest e-bike preference at 3.44:1.
Raw search volume favors big cities. Toronto will always top that list. Per-capita rates tell a different story. They reveal where e-bike interest runs deepest relative to population size. We divided each city's e-bike searches by its population and multiplied by 100,000.
| Rank | City | Population (approx) | E-Bike Searches | Per 100K Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 92,000 | 3,000 | 3,261 |
| 2 | Vancouver | 685,000 | 10,800 | 1,577 |
| 3 | Toronto | 2,930,000 | 29,700 | 1,014 |
| 4 | Calgary | 1,340,000 | 13,200 | 985 |
| 5 | Halifax | 440,000 | 3,900 | 886 |
Source: Street Rides keyword research Google Ads keyword data, May 2026. Population figures are approximate metro area estimates.
Victoria leads by a massive margin. Its 3,261 searches per 100K residents is more than double the second-place city. Three factors explain this result.
First, Victoria has the mildest climate in Canada. Winters rarely drop below freezing. Residents can ride 12 months a year. Second, the city has a strong cycling culture. Bike commuting rates in Victoria rank among the highest in the country. Third, Victoria is a popular retirement destination. Older adults represent a key e-bike buyer demographic. Motor assist makes cycling accessible for riders who stopped pedaling years ago.
Victoria is also a small city. With only 92,000 people, each search carries more weight in the per-capita calculation. But the raw volume still impresses. Three thousand monthly e-bike searches from a city this size shows genuine, concentrated demand.
Vancouver places second at 1,577 searches per 100K. The city has 246 kilometres of high-comfort bike lanes. That network makes e-bike commuting practical and safe. Mild winters extend the riding season. Hills throughout the city make motor assist valuable. A regular bike up the Cambie Street bridge is hard work. An e-bike makes it easy.
Vancouver also runs the Mobi bike share program. Public exposure to shared e-bikes introduces new riders to the category. Many of those riders then search for their own e-bike to purchase.
Toronto ranks third at 1,014 per 100K. Montreal does not appear in the top 5. That gap is surprising. Montreal has 360 kilometres of bike lanes. That is the most of any Canadian city. Montreal also has BIXI, one of the oldest bike share systems in North America.
Yet Montreal's per-capita rate sits at roughly 494 per 100K. Toronto's rate is more than double that figure. Two factors explain the gap. Montreal's strong cycling culture means many residents already own traditional bikes. The e-bike upgrade has been slower to take hold. Also, Montreal search volumes reflect English-language queries only. French-language searches for "velo electrique" would add significant volume. Our data captures Google Ads volumes for English terms.
E-bikes win in every Canadian city. But the margin varies widely. In some cities, e-scooters nearly match e-bike demand. In others, e-bikes dominate by 3 to 1. These gaps reveal local preferences shaped by terrain, climate, and infrastructure.
Edmonton has the tightest competition at 1.24:1. E-bikes draw 7,200 searches per month. E-scooters draw 5,800. That 55/45 split is the closest any city gets to parity.
Three factors make Edmonton different. First, the city is flat. E-scooters work best on level ground. Hills are the enemy of standing scooters. Edmonton has few of them. Second, Edmonton skews younger than cities like Victoria. Younger riders gravitate toward e-scooters for short urban trips. Third, harsh winters mean both vehicles get stored indoors for months. E-scooters are easier to carry into an apartment. They fold down and weigh 15 to 25 kilograms. A typical e-bike weighs 25 to 35 kilograms.
Winnipeg and Hamilton both show 1.50:1 ratios. E-bikes hold 60% of searches. E-scooters hold 40%. These are mid-sized cities with flat terrain and cold winters. The pattern matches Edmonton but less extreme.
Winnipeg produces 5,700 e-bike and 3,800 e-scooter searches per month. Hamilton produces 4,800 and 3,200. Both cities lack the extensive bike lane networks of Vancouver or Montreal. Without dedicated cycling infrastructure, e-scooters compete on convenience. They are smaller, cheaper, and easier to store.
Quebec City sits at the opposite extreme. Its 3.44:1 ratio is the highest on the list. E-bikes outsearch e-scooters by more than 3 to 1. Only 340 monthly searches go to e-scooters. E-bikes capture 77.5% of the combined total.
Quebec City is hilly. The Upper Town sits on a cliff above the Lower Town. That terrain punishes e-scooters. Standing on a platform going uphill is unstable and slow. E-bikes handle inclines with ease because the rider sits down and the motor assists pedaling. The city also has strong cycling traditions. Residents are more likely to upgrade from a bicycle to an e-bike than to switch to a scooter.
Vancouver shows a 2.25:1 ratio. That is the third strongest e-bike preference. The city's 246 kilometres of bike lanes were built for bicycles. E-bikes fit naturally into that infrastructure. E-scooters face more regulatory uncertainty on bike paths in BC.
Vancouver's hills also play a role. The city rises steeply from the waterfront to the residential areas south of Broadway. Motor-assisted pedaling handles those grades well. Standing scooters struggle on the same climbs. The combination of terrain and infrastructure creates a strong structural advantage for e-bikes.
Across all 12 cities, not a single one shows e-scooter search demand exceeding e-bike demand. Even Edmonton, the closest race at 1.24:1, still tilts toward e-bikes. The national average of 1.78:1 holds remarkably steady across different geographies, climates, and city sizes. E-bikes are the dominant personal electric vehicle category in Canadian search behaviour.
Canada has 18,700 km of cycling infrastructure across 75 municipalities. That is a massive investment in two-wheeled travel. The question is simple. Does building bike lanes make people search for e-bikes?
We compared cycling infrastructure kilometres against monthly e-bike search volume. The results surprised us.
Montreal leads all Canadian cities with 360 km of high-comfort bike lanes. No other city comes close. You would expect Montreal to dominate e-bike search volume too.
It does not.
Montreal ranks 5th in monthly e-bike searches at 8,700 per month. Per capita, the city generates only 494 searches per 100K residents. Toronto and Vancouver both rank higher.
Two explanations stand out. First, many Montrealers search in French. Terms like "velo electrique" do not appear in our English keyword data. Second, Montreal already has a deep cycling culture. Residents who already own bikes search less than residents just discovering e-bikes.
Victoria sits at the opposite end. The city has modest cycling infrastructure compared to Montreal. Yet Victoria produces the highest per-capita e-bike demand in the country at 3,261 searches per 100K residents.
Victoria proves that climate and demographics matter more than lane kilometres. Mild winters allow year-round riding. A large retirement community seeks low-impact transportation.
Edmonton is investing $100 million in cycling infrastructure. The city plans to add 100 km of new high-quality lanes by 2026. Hamilton follows a similar path with $60 million for 151 km of cycling facilities between 2024 and 2028.
Despite this investment, Edmonton has the lowest e-bike preference ratio of any city we studied. Residents search for e-scooters almost as often as e-bikes. Cold winters lasting six months likely push interest toward compact, storable e-scooters.
Toronto tells a different story. The city forecasts 8.1 million Bike Share rides in 2025. E-bikes in that fleet deliver 2x trips per day compared to regular bikes. Toronto is adding 200 new e-bikes to the program in 2026.
Toronto also leads all cities in raw e-bike search volume at 29,700 per month. The correlation between Bike Share growth and search demand is strong. People ride shared e-bikes, enjoy the experience, then search to buy their own.
Rental searches tell us where Canadians try e-bikes for the first time. People who rent today become buyers tomorrow. We tracked "e-bike rental" searches across all 12 cities.
Vancouver generates 390 "e-bike rental" searches per month. That is the highest of any Canadian city. The mild coastal climate makes year-round rentals practical. Tourists add to the volume during peak season.
Quebec City launched its program with 1,800 e-bikes across 165 stations in 2025. The city plans to reach 3,300 e-bikes by 2028. That represents 1,200% fleet growth in just four years. This aggressive expansion signals strong local demand.
Toronto Bike Share forecasts 8.1 million rides in 2025. E-bikes in the fleet perform at 2x the trip rate of regular bikes. The city is adding 200 new e-bikes in 2026 to meet demand.
The pattern is clear. Riders try a shared e-bike. They love the pedal assist on Toronto hills. Then they search for their own e-bike to buy.
Cities with strong rental programs create a purchase pipeline. Rental riders become educated consumers. They understand motor types, range, and battery life before they buy.
If you live in a city with active e-bike sharing, take advantage of it. Rent different models before committing to a purchase. We cover the full market in our Canadian e-bike market report.
We used the Street Rides keyword research Google Ads Search Volume API to collect search data across 12 Canadian cities. Each city used a unique Google Ads location code to isolate local demand.
Keywords tracked (9 per city): "electric bike", "e-bike", "ebike", "electric scooter", "e-scooter", "e-bike shop", "electric bike store", "e-bike laws", "e-bike rental"
How we calculated totals:
Additional sources:
Date: May 2026
Limitations:
Toronto leads with 29,700 monthly e-bike searches. That represents 30% of total e-bike search volume across all 12 cities we studied.
Canadians prefer e-bikes by a ratio of 1.78 to 1. E-bikes outsearch e-scooters in every single city we measured. No Canadian city shows higher e-scooter demand than e-bike demand.
Victoria leads at 3,261 searches per 100,000 residents. Mild climate, cycling culture, and a retirement community drive this concentration. Read our market report for national context.
Edmonton has the closest e-bike to e-scooter ratio at 1.24 to 1. E-scooters nearly match e-bike demand there. Cold winters and flat terrain make compact, storable e-scooters practical.
Not directly. Montreal has the most bike lanes in Canada at 360 km but ranks only 5th in e-bike searches. Climate and demographics influence search behaviour more than lane kilometres.
The Canadian e-bike market is worth $1.17 billion in 2025 and growing to $1.32 billion in 2026. Read our full Canadian e-bike market analysis for detailed projections.
Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Quebec City all have active e-bike share programs. Quebec City is growing fastest with 1,800 e-bikes and targeting 3,300 by 2028. Toronto Bike Share forecasts 8.1 million rides in 2025.
Four factors drive Victoria's demand. Mild year-round climate allows riding in every season. Strong cycling culture normalizes bike commuting. A retirement community seeks low-impact transportation. And a small population concentrates search volume into a high per-capita rate.
Les commentaires sont approuvés avant leur publication.
