National Cycling Strategy Needs Your Support

On October 4th, MP Gord Johns (Courtenay- Alberni) and Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie) introduced a private member's bill to establish a National Cycling Strategy. This is an important step forward to have the Federal Government working with the provinces and municipalities to enable all Canadians to cycle on safe and connected networks.

A Canadian Cycling Strategy will:

  • Set clear targets for the expansion of cycling friendly infrastructure
  • Encourage more Canadians to choose cycling as their mode of transportation
  • Improve national safety standard measures, such as side guards for commercial trucks
  • Support the cycling industry in Canada
  • Increase education for all road users
     

“We need to do more to make Canada a cycling nation,” said Johns who has biked to work on Parliament Hill every day since being elected. “It’s time for a national plan to get more Canadians using this low cost, environmentally friendly, and healthy mode of transportation.”

Johns added: 

Many other OECD countries have already adopted cycling strategies and have seen a significant increase in cycling as a result. Canada lags behind in many cycling indicators, including the number of children who cycle to school which remains at 2%. Whereas in Germany, 15% of children cycle to school, and in the Netherlands 50% of children cycle to school.

A National Cycling Strategy will lead to a healthier society, more livable communities, safer cycling options, reduced congestion, and significant savings for our healthcare system. Additionally, Canada's unique landscape is a perfect draw for cycling tourism.

What can you do to support this bill?

Email the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport supporting a National Cycling Strategy:

mintc@tc.gc.ca 

and cc these others, as well as your local MP:

pm@pm.gc.ca, Amarjeet.Sohi@parl.gc.ca, Catherine.McKenna@parl.gc.ca, Jane.Philpott@parl.gc.ca, Carla.Qualtrough@parl.gc.ca, Gord.Johns@parl.gc.ca, Todd.Doherty@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Aubin@parl.gc.ca, info@canadabikes.org