Commuting Patterns and Places of Work of Canadians, 2006 Census: National, provincial and territorial portraits

Place of work status

More people with no fixed workplace address

The increase in the number of workers with no fixed workplace address presents a challenge to urban transportation planners, urban planners and public safety experts. Among other things, it is difficult to estimate how many people are going to use a particular road or a public transit service when many workers travel to destinations that vary from day to day.

In 2006, 1,644,400 people, or 10.3% of all workers, reported that they did not have a fixed workplace address, an increase compared to 2001 (when 1,273,400 people, or 8.7% of all workers, did not have a fixed workplace address). These workers are more likely to drive their cars to work.¹

The largest proportion of workers with no fixed workplace address was in Alberta (13.7%). In contrast, this proportion was lowest in Quebec (8.0%) and Nunavut (7.4%).

Workers in some industries are much more likely to report having no fixed workplace address: construction (50.5%), transportation and warehousing (24.0%) and mining and oil and gas extraction (22.4%).

Because the proportion of workers in these industries varies from province to province, so does the proportion of workers with no fixed workplace address.

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