Below are a few items that I think you might find interesting:
The federal government released Budget 2025 this month, introducing significant changes to federal infrastructure funding. The budget proposes reallocating uncommitted funds from the Canada Public Transit Fund to the new $51 billion Build Communities Strong Fund. The Canada Public Transit Fund is where the Active Transportation Fund was housed, and there has been no official confirmation yet on what these changes mean for the future of the AT Fund. That being said, MP and Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden posted a photo on Instagram of himself with the Minister of Finance while holding a copy of the budget and his bicycle helmet with a caption that included the following: “As an avid cyclist myself, seeing this fund dedicated to vital active transport, including new bike lanes, is fantastic!”. I've been monitoring the budget as part of my outreach work with NABSA. You can read more about the budget on their blog.
On November 24, 2025, Bill 60 passed Third Reading at Queen's Park. The Bill was fast tracked through the process, skipping the committee process and receiving less than 10 hours of debate.The omnimous bill contained a lot of changes and has been widely criticized for making it easier for landlords to evict tenants, scrapping Toronto's green roof policy, and prohibiting municipalities from building bike lanes that reduce the number of motor vehicle travel lanes. I am concerned and disappointed by all of these moves, and I am devastated by the government's continued and misguided attacks on bicycle lanes and mobility. I've put together a blog post with my thoughts. Check it out below.
At the end of November, the Office of the Chief Coroner released a review of e-bike deaths in Ontario. There is a lot of information in this report and it will certainly be used to inform upcoming changes to e-bike definitions in Ontario. I wholeheartedly agree with the report finding that current e-bike definitions are too broad and should be narrowed to better distinguish between different types of vehicles (advocates have been pushing this for years). That being said, I am wary of the influence the review will have on regulating bicycle-style e-bikes as the devices identified in the review are motorcycle or scooter style e-bikes that have been speed modified. I have summarized my thoughts on the report in a blog post.
Earlier this year, three bicycles were stolen from Hamilton's Adaptive Bike Hub. The Hub is operated by Hamilton Bike Share and provides free access to adaptive bikes to make cycling more accessible. The two stolen strikes and recumbent e-bikes cost between $2,500 to $4,500 to replace. Stuckless Consulting Inc. has made a $500 donation to help with replacement costs.
Speaking of adaptive bike share - upright tricycles and handcycle tricycles were added to the bike share fleet in the Region of Waterloo this summer! Residents can book the four adaptive devices 24-hours ahead. The service is being offered free of charge and drop off and pick up are coordinated by system operator Neuron. This is one of the first initiatives of its kind run by a private shared micromobility operator in Canada.
The Canadian Automobile Association released two reports of interest this year. The first looked at near misses at intersections for pedestrians and cyclists, recording over 600,000 near misses across just 20 intersections over seven months. The study found that near misses most often involved vehicles making a right turn. The second report looked at how governments across Canada are regulating e-bikes and e-scooters, revealing gaps in safety, data collection, and public awareness.
A few months ago, BIXI Montréal expanded their fleet options with the addition of a custom designed trailer! Trailers are docked at bike share stations just like bikes and can be rented through the app. They can be easily attached to a bike share bike or to a personal bike. I had the opportunity to use one of the trailers to carry my luggage from the train station to my hotel while I was in town for the NABSA Conference and I was blown away by how smooth the trailers were. What a great innovation for carrying goods using bike share.
Lime has also been innovating to increase the carrying capacity of bike share, rolling out 500 e-bikes with child seats in Paris. The launch was informed by a survey of over 1,000 parents with children under the age of 10 in France that highlighted the need for child-friendly bike share. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would have already replaced some car or transit trips with bike share if a suitable bike had been available. I am excited to see this expansion of who is served by shared micromobility!
The federal government is looking at mandatory requirements for lithium-ion batteries, and consumer products containing lithium-ion batteries. Health Canada recently opened a pre-consultation comment period, and will use the information collected to inform next steps. You can read more about the proposal online and submit responses to their online questionnaire between December 2, 2025 to February 14, 2026. Currently there are no specific regulatory requirements for lithium-ion batteries in Canada. This proposal just came out so I haven't had a chance to review and understand how it might impact e-bikes yet. You can likely expect a blog post about it in the new year. Please send me your thoughts in the meantime.
British Columbia has paused their Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program for the 2025/2026 intake period as part of an independent review of the Clean BC program. When I started writing this newsletter a few weeks ago, this was an entirely bad news story, but on November 26, the Government released the results of that review. Reviewers noted that given the extensively documented co-benefits of active transportation the $100 million allocated to fund initiatives is modest, providing the comparison that it represents just 0.2% of the $5 billion directed by the province to widen parts of Highway 1. The reviewers recommend a more permanent and increased funding solution for active transportation by Budget 2027. There is of course no guarantee that this new funding will be actioned, and many projects have missed out on much needed funding in the interim during the pause.
Helsinki, Finland recently went a full year with zero road crash fatalities. Lower speed limits, smarter street design, upgraded infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, and better enforcement are credited with this success. This is an inspiring example that we can (and must) get to zero road fatalities.
I feel like I would be remiss not to mention what's happening in Ontario with speed cameras. As of November 14, 2025, the use of speed cameras is banned. Unsurprisingly, municipalities are reporting increases in speeding, including data from Brampton city councillor Rowena Santos showing it has more than doubled since the ban. Despite political concerns about the cameras being a “cash grab” from speeding drivers, a report from SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University that found that the cameras had reduced speeding by 45% in school zones and slow the majority of driver's maximum speed by more than 10km an hour.
Thanks for reading the full newsletter! Here are a few interesting job postings in the active transportation sector you, or someone you know, may be interested in:
