The recent release of the most searched vehicles for 2016 on autoTRADER.ca told the broad story of which vehicles are most popular online across Canada, either for purchasing now, or daydreaming about one day.
But there’s also much to learn about Canadians’ desire for any automobile by digging deeper into who searched for what the most in each province. Such as seeing which areas of the country hunted for similar vehicles. Or notable changes in vehicle interest from one year to the next, whether in a group of provinces, or just one. These numbers provide a more nuanced yet detailed peek into the minds and hearts of car buyers – and car lovers – in every part of the country.
As such, here’s what we’ve gleaned from all online searches (mobile, desktop and autoTRADER.ca app) up to early December 2016.
Ontario
- Ford F-150
- BMW 3 Series
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Honda Accord
- Jeep Wrangler
- Porsche 911
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota RAV4
Canada’s most populous province searched for the Ford F-150 more than any other vehicle, helping to make it the top search in Canada (replacing the 2015 national crown holder, the Honda Civic), and also in every province except one (see which one below). Compared to the rest of the country, however, it was the only province where the second most searched was a luxury vehicle, the BMW 3 Series.
This second place spot was basically wrapped up by the Ford Mustang in pretty much every other province, save the far northern territories, and Quebec, and finished third in Ontario. The Honda Civic was most searched in Ontario in 2015, pointing towards the general Canadian market’s shift towards larger trucks, SUVs and less fuel efficient vehicles, a trend that historically has come with lower or stable gas prices.
Quebec
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Ford F-150
- BMW 3 Series
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota RAV4
- Mazda3
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Porsche 911
- Toyota Corolla
Quebec is certainly a distinct society within Canada, and that’s reflected in its vehicle searches on autoTRADER.ca and its closely related French-language site autoHEBDO.net. It was the only province not to see the F-150 as most searched vehicle, with the Ford Mustang taking top spot in the largely francophone province. In fact, the F-150 didn’t even finish second, coming in just behind the Honda Civic in Quebec searches.
Keep in mind that while the Civic has been the best-selling car in Canada for almost two decades now, it has always been outsold by the F-150 across the country, and up until the beginning of December 2016, Ford’s popular pickup had clocked in more than double the Civic’s sales, according to noted sales site goodcarbadcar.net.
So for both the Civic and the rear-drive-only Ford Mustang to be researched that much says something about both the stronger appeal there of smaller and more fuel efficient cars, as well as the auto enthusiast streak that runs through it, perhaps more so than in any other province.
Alberta
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- BMW 3 Series
- Porsche 911
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Jeep Wrangler
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Toyota Tacoma
- BMW M
- Ford Escape
Traditionally known as truck country, Albertans still searched online most for the Civic in 2015 – but 2016 was a much different story. The F-150 rose to the top this year, the Civic dropping all the way out of the top 10 and into 13th place in the province.
The next trio of vehicles were all luxury-oriented driving machines, with the pricey Porsche 911 landing higher than in every other province in fourth place. Add up the Mustang, 911, Corvette and BMW M hunting (the latter not cracking the top 10 in any other province), and there was plenty of desire for high-end vehicles still in the heart of the oil patch.
British Columbia
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- BMW 3 Series
- Toyota Tacoma
- Porsche 911
- Honda Civic
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Mazda3
- Honda CR-V
There are plenty of similarities between BC and its Alberta neighbour when it comes to online vehicle searches, with the same top three vehicles in the same order in both western provinces. There’s a similar appetite for high-end sports cars like the 911 and Chevrolet Corvette as well, although affordable compacts like the Civic and Mazda3 make an appearance in the top 10 here, unlike in its Rocky Mountain neighbour.
The vehicles most searched in 2016 in BC are largely the same as the ones most searched in 2015, in slightly shuffled order, with notably thirstier vehicles pushing down the previously most popular Civic down into sixth place. And this in the province that has traditionally seen the highest fuel prices in the country, and has therefore been (arguably) the most environmentally conscious when it came to their vehicle choices.
Prairies (Saskatchewan, Manitoba)
Manitoba
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Honda CR-V
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Corvette
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Toyota RAV4
- BMW 3 Series
- Ford Escape
Saskatchewan
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Jeep Wrangler
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- Ford Escape
- Honda CR-V
- Honda Civic
Similar in their Ford enthusiasm for the F-150 and Mustang as their top two searched, these prairie provinces diverge somewhat from there, with practical Hondas Civic and CR-V taking over next in Manitoba, but at the bottom of the top 10 in Saskatchewan. Still there are largely similar vehicles on both lists.
Manitoba has seen more fuel-efficient vehicles displacing thirstier vehicles such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota Tacoma from 2015’s top 10. It’s a similar story in Saskatchewan, where falling pickup truck searches for the Ram 1500 and Tacoma drop out of the top 10 and the Honda CR-V to make it in for 2016.
Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island)
New Brunswick
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Honda CR-V
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Corvette
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Toyota RAV4
- BMW 3 Series
- Ford Escape
Newfoundland
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Honda CR-V
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Corvette
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Toyota RAV4
- BMW 3 Series
- Ford Escape
Nova Scotia
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Toyota Tacoma
- Jeep Wrangler
- Honda CR-V
- BMW 3 Series
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Toyota RAV4
- GMC Sierra 1500
Prince Edward Island
- Ford F-150
- Ford Mustang
- Toyota Tacoma
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Toyota RAV4
- Honda Civic
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Camry
Lots of similarities in these four provinces, including the top three vehicles searched online on autoTRADER.ca, save for PEI, whose residents were not quite as curious about the Civic (sixth overall) as their Maritime mates (third). All have a fairly evenly split interest in pickups, sports cars (Mustang and Corvette), compact cars, compact SUVs, and the BMW 3 Series. Compared to 2015, the shift from compact cars to compact SUVs continues to be seen out east, with the Ford Escape replacing the Corolla in half of these four provinces.
The North (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon Territories)
Northwest Territories
- Ford F-150
- Ford F-350
- Ford Mustang
- Jeep Wrangler
- Toyota Tacoma
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Toyota Tundra
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Porsche 911
Nunavut
- Ford F-150
- Jeep Wrangler
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Ford Escape
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Toyota Tacoma
- Ford Mustang
- Toyota Tundra
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
Yukon Territories
- Ford F-150
- Toyota Tacoma
- Ford F-350
- Toyota 4Runner
- Toyota Tundra
- Dodge or Ram 3500
- Jeep Wrangler
- Ford Mustang
- Toyota RAV4
- GMC Sierra 1500
Lots of similarities up north, with large pickup trucks very popular, not surprising considering the amount of snow and windshield-threatening debris served up by heavy truck traffic to lower riding cars. The F-350 is especially intriguing to online searchers up north, cracking the top three in both territories.
