August 18, 2025 - Across Canada, a concerning pattern is emerging… provincial governments are using bike lanes as political bait writes Calgary-based freelance writer and editor, Cailynn Klingbeil, in an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail.
Alberta’s transportation minister recently called on Calgary and Edmonton to remove bike lanes from key roadways, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government passed Bill 212 last year that allows the province to remove Toronto bike lanes and requires provincial approval for any new bike lanes that involve the removal of vehicle lanes. Part of the law has been found unconstitutional; an appeal is in the works.
Nova Scotia’s Premier Tim Houston has threatened to overturn Halifax council’s decision on a single downtown bike lane and they reversed course.
Yet decades of research shows that protected bike lanes save lives. It’s hard to dismiss all this as mere political theatre when people are literally dying.
Read the full opinion piece here.
