A new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reveals a sharp increase in hospitalizations linked to electric scooter (e-scooter) use across Canada, with children, teens, and women seeing the most significant rise in injuries.
According to data released Thursday, hospitalizations involving children and youth aged 5 to 17 increased by 61 per cent between 2022 and 2024. During the same period, injuries among women surged by 60 per cent, while hospitalizations involving men between 18 and 64 rose by 22 per cent.
The data also indicates that the majority of e-scooter-related hospital admissions occurred in four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia — the country’s most densely populated regions, where e-scooter usage is more common.
Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, an emergency physician at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, tells The Canadian Press that the increase in injuries among children and teens has been steadily growing over the past five years. Some of these incidents have been severe.
“We see anything from minor scrapes and cuts and little lacerations that need a couple of stitches to … traumatic brain injury, internal bleeding in the chest and abdomen, open fractures that need to go to the operating room to be fixed,” he said.
Rosenfield believes the rise in injuries is correlated with the increasing popularity and affordability of e-scooters, along with a lack of understanding about their potential dangers.
He notes that while some children aged four to six have been injured while riding with parents, it’s more common for teens to be injured while riding alone, often without helmets or protective gear.
“Their acceleration and torque is tremendous. And most parents, when they’re buying these things for their kids, are completely unaware of that.”
In Ontario, riders must be at least 16 years old. But in Toronto, e-scooters are not allowed on public roads or paths. And just east of the city in Oshawa, they’re permitted under a pilot program.
With files from The Canadian Press