Not even a joke, someone on a bike was struck by a car and killed just a few blocks away from me this very morning; fourth one in the past few years in this area.

“Buy a bike,” is such privileged shit, dude. Most people in Canada do not live in a place where bikes are a viable option. I don’t have an extra three hours in my day that also puts me at substantially higher risk of bodily harm. If they’re not affluent hobbyist the most common bike rider is someone who cannot afford the expense of a vehicle and are exploited much more heavily by our public transport system.

Car dependency is certainly an existential issue that manifests in Canada’s city planning, cost of living, and environmental footprint. What you just said, that people’s choices are the problem, is exactly the narrative the state and capitalists would like you to subscribe to. It is a systemic issue remedied only by decades of consistent advocacy and action.

Why don’t you take a look at the authorities in Canadian territory that have fought tooth and nail to defend system we have for the better part of the last century?

Right, a bike. That’s going to help me bring all those groceries home, it’ll be an okay form of transport when it’s raining or -30°C, when I need to go across the city on an errand or appointment, when I need to give someone a lift, when I’m visiting a relative who lives the next city over, and so forth and so on.

I don’t get this argument. Europe makes and exports EVs. Japan and Korea do too. Buy from them if you don’t want something US branded. Build EVs in Canada.

Easy solutions to all of these complaints:

bring all those groceries home

Panniers, baskets, racks, cargo bikes if you have very large grocery runs

when it’s raining

Wear a rain coat, put fenders on the bike

or -30°C

Wear warm clothes

when I need to give someone a lift

Go for a bike ride with your friend, or call them a cab if they are not capable of it

when I’m visiting a relative who lives the next city over

Rent a car, take a bus or train, or if you are feeling frisky, do an extra long bike ride there and stay overnight

and so forth and so on

All your concerns are very easily addressed, but still glosses over the fact that nobody has said that you should sell your car and do everything by bike. Replace the trips you can with bike rides and you will have more joy in your life while also helping the environment.

I do have a both a bike and a car. Basically everything I do is better done with the car. Cheaper, easier, faster, more comfortable.

That only works in the most urban locations. There is no way I am getting anywhere with a bike where I live. Even my horse would be a better choice but also that is impossible.

Canada does not have the technical knowledge to build EVs. We make trucks with 1960s technology, or assemble vehicles designed in Japan. There is no point in making EVs in Canada when sales are barely 6%. The problem here is not manufacturers, it’s Canadian men who define their masculinity by the size of truck they buy, and then politicians who subsidize fuel for them.

You clearly have not ever ridden a bike in winter.

No they are not.

We went through this with Japan in the 80s. Get them to build here.

As for Chinese autos…is the media willfully ignorant at how close the Chinese EV industry is to implosion? BYD is months behind paying suppliers. All this is moot, in a year, most Chinese EV makers will be broke and the EVs will be in the world’s landfills within 5 years.

There is no business model. No one can tool up and build EVs in Canada to fight over what MAYBE will be 25% of sales in ten years. Canadians are not buying EVs.

I ride my bike every winter, it’s really not a big deal if you wear warm clothes. The biggest issues arise when cities dont plow bike paths

Cheaper, easier, faster, more comfortable.

And worse for your health.

Its cheaper to drive than ride a bike? I highly doubt that. Perhaps you should try an e-buke though. You may find that far easier, faster, and more comfortable than a regular bicycle and depending on where you live, it may be faster than a car too.

Regardless, the point isn’t necessarily to be doing the thing that is always the most convenient and most comfortable, the point is making choices that are good for the environment and good for both mental and physical health.

If you truly live in an area too remote to access any shops or services by bicycle or e-bike, then my post is not meant for you. Most people in Canada live in urban areas and are capable of replacing some car trips with bicycle trips.

Both economies are too big for that to be feasible.

Infrastructure is not the best for cyclists I agree and I dont blame you for feeling unsafe for riding your bike. Everyone has a different threat model though and most Canadians live in large urban areas with large and expanding bike networks that they can take advantage of. That might not mean commuting to work by bike but maybe trips like going to the grocery store or the dentist can be replaced by bike trips.

I do agree that safe cycling infrastructure is one of the largest barriers to getting people on bikes, but let’s not pretend that there is some big modern day conspiracy against bike lanes. It’s everyday people who fight tooth and nail against every bike lane that is proposed because they will take away parking or driving lanes. Doug Ford might have a personal vendetta against bike lanes but many many people support this vendetta and support Ford because he is trying to remove them.

Ages ago I used to live downtown. I was biking even less. It’s not safe most of the time. Let alone when hauling stuff. Very few people would actually be able to (mostly) replace a car with a bike. There are also many issues (time, physical abilities etc.) with actual meaningful use of bikes. I am not talking the odd bike ride to get a new book or so. Our country, climate, society and city design isn’t made for lots of biking. Should you bike as much as you can? Sure but it’s not a viable sub for cars.

I’m so tired of privileged people in the city talking down to everyone else like we don’t know how cities work (“different threat models” fuck outta here with that bullshit). I’ve lived in cities ranging from 200k to 700k and guess what? There isn’t bike infrastructure; you share the road and there’s some adequate bike-lanes in affluent neighbourhoods that I don’t give a shit about. In the city I’m currently in, bike-lanes share a merge with turning lanes f so nooooobody uses them because they don’t want to get nailed by some douchebag in a light truck who can’t even see past the steering wheel. Nobody is talking about a conspiracy, this is the reality of neoliberal politics and the ruins of suburban sprawl. When I say, “authorities” I’m referring to the systems of power that operate in opposition to workers and the land that relegates decisions for infrastructure to affluent land-owners who couldn’t give a shit less about sustainability or accessibility. I also saw you put “wear warm clothes” as a response to someone saying that dangerous winter weather makes bikes impractical like you’re on some Marie Antoinette shit. Don’t talk to me like you understand any of this when it’s obvious you haven’t actually had to live in different places in this country.

Regardless of that, car-dependency makes biking distances prohibitively expensive in the one way that you clearly have never had to think about: time. I do not have the fucking time to bike to my dentist or grocery store – even if I had a backfiets that could actually carry groceries – when everything is spaced out to accomodate cars. It’s nice that you have time for that, most people have work and responsibilites that puts their time at a premium and that makes biking a very low priority on how to live sustainably. I cannot afford to bike. Everything you’ve said speaks from the distorition that individual choice is a primary vector for change when we know that systemic causes for decisions, like driving instead of biking, provide more effective explanations and paths to real change. You subscribe to the very narratives that are used to reproduce this unsustainable way of life and have the gall to sit there and act like you know better than others. -

This is the answer. We do not have Canadian car companies.

Why build American cars in Canada? Build European and Asian ones instead.

Trade the tariffs for new factories.

I have 4 kids. Comments telling me to put their groceries and hockey gear in a basket are hilarious.