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Canadian Coalition for the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030

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Author: Julie Taylor

Bio: Julie the manager of Knowledge Translation and Programs at Parachute. She manages Parachute’s road safety and safe mobility initiatives. She is an experienced project manager who has led inter-disciplinary teams in the development, implementation, and evaluation of national and provincial health promotion projects and events for more than fifteen years. At Parachute, Julie is responsible for planning, managing and delivering road safety initiatives with a focus on the implementation of Vision Zero and a Safe System Approach. 

Abstract: This article provides a summary of the newly formed Canadian Coalition for the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, co-led by Parachute and CARSP. The coalition brings together stakeholders from diverse disciplines, and was formed to advance a coordinated, evidence-informed approach to support Canada’s commitment to reduce fatalities and injuries by 50% by 2030. Grounded in Vision Zero and the Safe System Approach, the coalition promotes high-impact interventions such as speed management, safer vehicle design, and improved infrastructure, while engaging governments to strengthen policy, accountability and implementation. This work highlights the need for coordinated action and strong implementation. 

Advancing a Safe System Approach in Canada

Road traffic injury remains a leading cause of preventable death and serious injury, both globally and in Canada. Each year, approximately 1,900 people are killed and more than 9,200 are seriously injured on Canadian roads, with transport injuries having an annual societal cost of $3.6 billion. Despite longstanding efforts, progress has slowed in many jurisdictions, underscoring the need for accelerated, coordinated, and evidence-informed action.

In alignment with the United Nations Resolution 74/299 and Sustainable Development Goal target 3.6, Canada has committed to reducing road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. Achieving this target requires operationalizing the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 within the Canadian context—particularly through the adoption of a Vision Zero philosophy and Safe System Approach.

A Pan-Canadian, Multi-Sectoral Coalition

The Canadian Coalition for the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, co-lead by Parachute and CARSP, was established to support this objective through coordinated, multi-sectoral engagement. The coalition brings together expertise from injury prevention, road safety, public health, sustainable mobility, research, and advocacy.

Its core goal is to strengthen Canada’s contribution to the Decade of Action by:

  • Supporting alignment across federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels
  • Advancing implementation of evidence-based interventions
  • Creating a unified, credible voice to influence policy and practice

Importantly, the coalition recognizes that while federal leadership is essential, implementation authority largely rests with provinces, territories, and municipalities. Bridging this gap is central to its mandate.

Operationalizing the Safe System Approach in Canada

The coalition’s work is grounded in Safe System principles—acknowledging human vulnerability and human error, and designing systems that minimize the likelihood and severity of crashes. Priority areas reflect high-impact, evidence-based interventions aligned with the Global Plan.

Speed Management as a Core Pillar of Road Safety

Speed remains a critical determinant of crash severity. The coalition developed and disseminated a national policy briefing to provincial/territorial ministers, advocating for 30 km/h default speed limits in urban areas with high pedestrian and cyclist activity.

The briefing emphasizes:

  • The direct relationship between speed, crash risk, and injury severity
  • The need for coordinated, multi-level action led by provinces, territories and municipalities, including safer road design, traffic calming, automated enforcement, and improved data collection to support implementation and accountability
  • Co-benefits of speed reduction, including improved public health, increased active transportation, reduced emissions and congestion, and significant economic savings from fewer collisions

This work supports jurisdictions seeking to embed speed management within broader Safe System implementation.

Vehicle Size and Safety Risk

The increasing market share of larger light-duty vehicles (e.g., SUVs and pickup trucks) introduces new risks, particularly for vulnerable road users. Coalition efforts in this area have included:

  • Knowledge mobilization through a national webinar with researchers and practitioners
  • Engagement with national standard-setting discussions, including potential updates to the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS), to be comparable to U.S. standards set by National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), to require larger vehicles to undergo testing for the safety of those outside the vehicles – specifically pedestrians and cyclists

Informing the Next Road Safety Strategy

With Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2025 now having come to an end, the coalition coordinated a multi-stakeholder response presented to the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) to inform the next iteration, Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2035.

Key themes emphasized include:

    • The need for stronger accountability and measurable, time-bound national targets
    • Greater alignment with Safe System implementation is required, particularly through infrastructure design e.g., safe roads, 30 km/h zones, traffic calming, vehicle safety standards (specifically around vehicle size), and interventions that prioritize vulnerable road users rather than focusing primarily on individual behaviour. 
    • Equity, inclusion, and multimodal transportation must be more fully integrated, including attention to micromobility, land-use planning, and the needs of underserved and high-risk populations, supported by better data collection.
  • Broader stakeholder engagement and clearer governance are needed, including meaningful involvement of civil society (NGOs, academia, youth), clearer roles across levels of government, and improved knowledge mobilization and dissemination of best practices. 

Advocacy, Engagement, and Knowledge Translation

The coalition has demonstrated the value of coordinated advocacy and knowledge translation in advancing road safety priorities:

  • Pan-Canadian Government Engagement: Targeted outreach to federal, provincial, and territorial ministers has positioned the coalition as a trusted source of evidence-informed policy input.
  • Global–Local Linkages: Participation in, and engagement around, the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety (2025) in Marrackech, Morocco, strengthened connections between international commitments and domestic action.
  • Speed Policy Advancement: Distribution of the national speed reduction briefing to all provincial/territorial ministers has supported ongoing policy discussions across jurisdictions.
  • Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE): The coalition issued a position statement and engaged in provincial advocacy to reinforce the evidence base supporting ASE as a core Safe System intervention.
  • Unified Technical Input: Coordinated submissions to CCMTA and other bodies demonstrate the coalition’s ability to synthesize cross-sector expertise into actionable recommendations.

Moving Forward: From Strategy to Implementation

For road safety professionals, the challenge ahead lies not in identifying effective interventions, but in scaling up and sustaining their implementation. The coalition’s work reinforces several key considerations:

  • Embedding the Vision Zero philosophy and Safe System principles across all stages of planning, design, and policy
  • Advancing inter-jurisdictional consistency while allowing for local adaptation
  • Leveraging data, research, and evaluation to guide decision-making
  • Strengthening collaboration across traditionally siloed sectors

The Canadian Coalition for the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 provides a platform to support this work—connecting expertise, aligning priorities, and advancing a shared vision of zero fatalities and serious injuries on Canadian roads.

Coalition Participants

  • Co-chairs
    • Valerie Smith, Director, Programs, Parachute
    • Julie Taylor, Manager, Knowledge Translation and Programs, Parachute
    • Brenda Suggett, Executive Director, CARSP
  • Consultant: Jennifer Hall, CEO & Principal Consultant, Sirius Strategic Solutions Ltd., Adjunct Asst Professor, School of Public Administration, UVIC
  • Amanda O’Rourke, Executive Director, 880 Cities
  • Samuel Benoit, Executive Director, Velo Canada Bikes
  • Nicole Roach, Director, Sustainable Mobility, Green Communities Canada
  • Leigh Vanderloo, Scientific Director, ParticipACTION 
  • Linda Rothman, Assistant Professor, School of Occupational and Public Health, Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Sophie Callahan, Director, The Centre for Active Transportation
  • Robyn Robertson, President & CEO, Traffic Injury Research Foundation
  • Sandrine Cabana-Degani, Director, Piétons Quebec
  • Isabelle Joncas, Equiterre