In the 2021 Census table, 180,540 Mississauga commuters used a car, truck or van as their main way to work: 82.7% of the 218,345 people in the selected commuting population. Public transit accounted for 24,890 people, or 11.4%. BriefDash calculated these shares from the published counts.
Mississauga: main commuting modes in 2021
| Main mode | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Car, truck or van (driver or passenger) | 180,540 | 82.7% |
| Public transit | 24,890 | 11.4% |
| Walking or cycling | 7,065 | 3.2% |
| Motorcycle, scooter or moped | 115 | 0.1% |
| Other method | 5,735 | 2.6% |
Why it matters
For residents comparing neighbourhoods, a citywide percentage is background context, not a substitute for checking a specific journey. The useful question is whether a route works for your workplace and travel time, rather than whether Mississauga has transit somewhere.
What we measured
We selected Mississauga (census subdivision DGUID 2021A00053521005), all departure times, all commuting durations and the total place-of-work-status column. The table covers employed people aged 15 and over in private households who had a usual workplace or no fixed workplace address. It does not count every resident, every employed resident or every trip made in the city. People working at home are outside this selected commuting population.
The distinction that matters
The car category includes passengers as well as drivers, so 180,540 is a count of people, not vehicles. The public-transit category is a commuting mode, not a count of MiWay boardings or a measure of MiWay’s market share. Someone using several modes reports a main mode; this table cannot reconstruct their entire journey.
A pandemic baseline, not a 2026 verdict
Statistics Canada says the census measured commuting in May 2021, when public-health restrictions and working from home affected travel. Its archived national analysis documents subsequent changes by May 2022. Those national changes cannot be used to calculate a new Mississauga percentage. This article makes no claim about the city’s current commuting mix, congestion, transit quality or neighbourhood property values.
BriefDash’s interpretation
Our conclusion is modest: private vehicles dominated the selected 2021 commuting population, while public transit still served a substantial group. That supports asking about both road access and transit connections when assessing a location. It does not establish which neighbourhood is best or whether a transit investment has succeeded. Those questions require current route-level evidence and a clearly defined comparison.
How to reproduce our calculations
Download the English CSV from the linked table. Select the Mississauga DGUID above, Total - Time leaving for work, Total - Commuting duration and the total place-of-work-status column. For each mutually exclusive main-mode group, divide its count by 218,345 and multiply by 100; round to one decimal place. Counts are census estimates subject to rounding. Do not add driver/passenger or bus/rail subcategories to their parent totals.
Sources & review
These pages were read for the last complete review. Sources are in English; the French guide translates BriefDash’s original explanation.
- Statistics Canada — Table 98-10-0479-01 (2021 Census; released November 15, 2023) ↗Checked November 6, 2026
- Statistics Canada — Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed commuting patterns for good? (November 30, 2022; archived) ↗Checked November 6, 2026
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0479-01, 2021 Census of Population, released November 15, 2023, and The Daily, November 30, 2022. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. Calculations and interpretation by BriefDash.
Review & update history
- Sources rechecked
Official sources, Census counts, calculations and use terms rechecked; English/French analysis unchanged.
- Published
Published BriefDash’s original Mississauga commuting analysis, with 2021 reference data, calculations and pandemic limitations.
AI-assisted research, bilingual writing and source checks. Our approach ↗