Driving Economic Impact in Canada

Uber is driven by the mission to help people go anywhere, get anything and earn their way. Uber has helped people save time while moving around safely and conveniently, it has created new business opportunities for restaurants, tourism and other local businesses, and provided flexible earning opportunities for drivers and delivery people wherever Uber operates in Canada. Read our full Economic Impact Report for Canada in 2023 here.

Economy

Uber’s technology helps people go anywhere and get anything safely and conveniently, providing flexible earning opportunities to over 140,000 drivers and delivery people who use Uber, and offering merchants another way to reach their customers.

In 2022, Uber unlocked an estimated $8.8 billion in economic value for the Canadian economy. This includes both the impact of the earnings of drivers, delivery people and merchants on the Uber platform, and the wider indirect and induced multiplier effect created throughout the company’s wider supply chain.

Consumers

Ridesharing platforms like Uber have made life easier for Canadians. When time is tight, Uber can be trusted to get riders from A to B quickly and safely while Uber Eats can free up time spent cooking and clearing up by helping deliver good quality food right to Eaters’ doors.

We estimate that Uber saves Canadian riders 13 million hours a year. Taken together, we estimate that Uber and Uber Eats produced $35 billion in consumer surplus in 2022, that’s equivalent to 1.4% GDP. For Uber Canada we looked at the consumer surplus generated by both Rides and Eats – this is the amount you would have to pay for someone to voluntarily give a good or service up.

• 81% of Canadian rides say safety is an important reason why they choose to ride with Uber, increasing to 89% among female riders
• 77% of Canadian riders agree that having options like Uber helps reduce impaired driving in an area
• 70% of Canadians have ordered from a restaurant they have never dined at before via a delivery app
• 49% of Canadian rider has used Uber to connect with public transit in the last year
• 47% of Uber Eats users used the app to order groceries in the last year
• 33% of Canadians who have a licence but who don’t have access to a car told us that having rideshare services like Uber was a very or somewhat important reason why they did not own a car

Drivers and Delivery People

In the last quarter of 2022 Uber saw the highest number of signups ever seen on the Platform in Canada. Our own survey found that 21% of drivers and delivery people told us they started driving or delivering with Uber in the last 12 months.

Insights

• 92% of drivers and delivery people who use Uber told us that schedule flexibility was important to them when choosing work
• 75% reported that their work with Uber or Uber Eats has become more important in the last year as a result of the rising cost of living
• 69% said that if they did not work with Uber or Uber Eats they would have struggled to cover their costs

We believe we can make app-based work better for drivers and delivery people. That’s why for the last two years, Uber and UFCW Canada, Canada’s largest private sector union, have been providing over 140,000 drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform with strong representation and advocating for government reforms to provide drivers and delivery people new benefits while preserving the flexibility of their work.

• On representation:
  • In the two years, 1,908 workers have had their deactivation or account-related issue case filed with Uber by UFCW Canada. Of these cases, 457 had a positive outcome. 310 workers regained access to the platform and 147 had an account-related issue resolved.
• On advocacy:
  • Uber and UFCW Canada have been advocating for a minimum earnings standard of at least 120% of minimum wage during engaged time, a benefits fund, notice of termination, and health and safety protections.
  • The Ontario government has passed legislation mandating a minimum earnings standard for gig workers during engaged time, which we will comply with when it is in force on July 1, 2025. And BC’s NDP Government recently announced reforms that include a minimum earning standard during engaged time as well which are now in force.
    

Communities

Keeping communities safe, helping businesses prosper, and driving equity are three core areas that have guided Uber’s social impact work. Uber is committed to working with diverse local partners that are making a big impact on communities across the country.