Vélo Canada Bikes

09/08/2026

There's this cool thing you've probably heard about called bike busses. It sounds super fun. A bunch of kids and a few adults riding together to school. Like a bus, but on bikes.

Kids are back in school (😬😳🥳) and Samuel wants to start a bike bus with his kids and neighbours, but how?!

Almost every month Vélo Canada Bikes hosts the Cross Country Cycling Advocacy Call. It consists of a short presentation from one of our members and an exchange of updates and resources to keep the community connected and moving forward.

🏫🚲🚲🚲
This Friday at 1pm Eastern, Samuel is hijacking the call to interrogate a panel of bike bus operators from three Canadian cities: Alanna de Boer from Kidical Mass YYC (Calgary), Cassie Smith of Kidical Mass Ottawa, and Maya Goldstein, Bike Bus Manager at HUB Cycling.

How do bike busses get started? What knowledge and resources would one need to keep one going? Join us in finding out how we can introduce more bike busses in our communities!

📩 Message us here to get the call details!

(Image courtesy of Cassie Smith)

09/04/2026

Join parliamentarians, local and national leaders, and fellow cyclists on October 6th for Bike Day on the Hill, a non-partisan celebration of everyday cycling in Canada. This year we will be highlighting cycling’s contribution to nation building for all people. So come out, bring your bike, bring your family and join us in sending the positive message that cycling can be for everyone!

🎟️ Registration for the event is open now at: https://bikedayonthehill.velocanadabikes.org/

Thank you to this year's amazing event sponsors:
Titanium: EnviroCentre
Carbon fibre: CAA and UL Standards & Engagement
Aluminium: Co-operators and The Biking Lawyer
Steel: Ebikes-international, Kunstadt Sports and Retro-rides.ca
Nonprofit event supporters: Bike Ottawa - Citizens for Safe Cycling - Ottawa, Canada and Heart & Stroke
And our Supporting Partners: Lectric eBikes CA, OGC, Shimano Bike, SRAM MTB, Trek Bicycle and Urban Racks!

09/01/2026

Got cycling law questions and don’t want to waste your time with AI hallucinations, sycophancy and bias? Nothing beats asking a real expert.

Be a part of your national voice for everyday cycling by participating in the Vélo Canada Bikes Annual General Meeting to be held on Sunday, September 27th over Zoom from 2 to 4pm Eastern Time.

This year’s Annual General Meeting will feature an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on cycling law in Canada with Professor Christopher Waters! In this fun, fast-paced 20-minute Q&A, attendees will steer conversation by sending in questions ahead of time. The moderator will fire them off to Professor Waters, covering everything from everyday rules of the road to big-picture legal gaps. We'll dive into what's broken in Canadian cycling laws and what advocates and policymakers should tackle next.

You must register in advance to receive the Zoom meeting details, calendar invite, agenda and attend the meeting. The deadline to register is Friday September 25th, 2025 at 11:59 EST.

Registration link: https://zurl.co/VU7KD

Our special guest speaker, Christopher Waters, is a Law Professor at the University of Windsor with expertise in international law and cycling law. He's also a longtime bicycle commuter, recreational cyclist, and advocate. He wrote the second edition of Every Cyclist’s Guide to Canadian Law and is currently finalizing the third edition.

You can submit your cycling law questions in advance to Professor Waters when you register for the AGM. Note that questions submitted after Sunday, September 20th may not be responded to in the presentation.

Please note: This session is intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice.

08/31/2026

Advancing cycling in Canada requires coordinated advocacy at every level — from federal funding to municipal leadership and professional networks that strengthen the ecosystem.

On September 23rd at the Samuel will be presenting on cycling advocacy with Shawn Smith (of Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals and WSP) and the mighty Michael Longfield (Cycle Toronto) in a session moderated by Professor Jeff Casello (University of Waterloo).

Join us!
📅 September 22–24, 2026
📍 Novotel Toronto Centre
🔗 www.ontariobikesummit.ca

08/20/2026

What do you think of when you think of a lobby organization? 👺 Do you picture shadowy interests buying influence over democracy?

Next time you can picture our movement: fuelled by volunteers, working tirelessly over the years to cultivating relationships, building partnerships, gathering the evidence and countering bikelash to help make Canada more bicycle-friendly. 🇨🇦🚲

Great to have our policy work and Bike Day on the Hill showcased today in Canada's premier government relations newspaper the Lobby Monitor! 🗞️ https://zurl.co/P18lj

Bike Day on the Hill 2026 will be on October 6th. Registration will open soon. Watch this space!

08/19/2026

08/19/2026

🚨 ACTION REQUIRED 🚨 It’s a critical time in our fight to protect municipal autonomy and active transportation infrastructure and we need YOUR 🫵 help immediately! Volunteer, donate, email elected officials - every action makes an impact. WE MUST STAND UP 💪

08/19/2026

La Cour d’appel de l’Ontario a infirmé une décision d’un tribunal inférieur concernant une loi provinciale exigeant la reconfiguration de voies cyclables protégées à Toronto.

L’Association canadienne de santé publique est intervenue dans cette affaire afin d’apporter à la Cour une perspective de santé publique et d’équité en santé.

La Cour a conclu que la Charte n’oblige pas les gouvernements à aménager ou à maintenir des voies cyclables. Cette conclusion constitutionnelle est toutefois distincte de la question de savoir ce qui constitue une bonne politique publique.

Les décisions en matière de transport ont d’importantes répercussions sur la sécurité, l’activité physique, l’accessibilité et l’équité en santé. Des infrastructures de transport actif sécuritaires et accessibles peuvent contribuer à réduire le risque de blessures liées à la circulation, à améliorer l’accès à l’emploi et aux services, et à favoriser des collectivités plus saines et plus durables. Les effets des décisions en matière de transport ne sont également pas répartis de façon égale.

Les gouvernements disposent d’une grande latitude pour établir les politiques en matière de transport. Cette latitude s’accompagne de la responsabilité de prendre ces décisions de façon transparente et en tenant soigneusement compte des meilleures données probantes disponibles.

𝐋𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐚 é𝐭é 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡é𝐞. 𝐋𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭é 𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢è𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭é 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐞.

Lire la déclaration complète de l’ACSP : https://www.cpha.ca/fr/appel-voies-cyclables

08/18/2026

The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a lower-court decision concerning provincial legislation requiring the reconfiguration of protected bicycle lanes in Toronto.

The Canadian Public Health Association participated in the case as an intervener, bringing a public health and health equity perspective to the Court’s consideration of the issues.

The Court has determined that the Charter does not require governments to establish or retain bicycle lanes. That constitutional finding, however, is distinct from the question of what constitutes sound public policy.

Transportation decisions have important consequences for safety, physical activity, accessibility and health equity. Safe, accessible active transportation infrastructure can help reduce the risk of traffic-related injury, improve access to employment and services, and support healthier and more sustainable communities. The impacts of transportation decisions are also not distributed equally.

Governments have broad authority to make transportation policy. With that authority comes a responsibility to make those choices transparently and with careful consideration of the best available evidence.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬.

Read CPHA’s full statement: https://www.cpha.ca/bike-lane-appeal

08/15/2026

Bike lanes save lives, that is a fact.

And the Ontario government would rather remove a lifeline that’s already in place than to protect a growing community of low-cost, low-congestion, non-polluting commuters.

Our initial victory challenging Doug Ford’s bike lane removal law has been overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

This is a legal setback. But it does not change what is at stake.

In the past 10 years, 28 people have been killed and 380 seriously injured while cycling in Toronto. Protected bike lanes are a critical tool for preventing these tragedies, and the government’s own evidence showed that removing them would not solve the congestion problem it was meant to address.

Our clients remain committed to safer streets. Read the full press release to learn more.

https://na3.hubs.ly/y0zJsM0