TORONTO — New data highlights how dangerous e-scooters and e-bikes can be for children in Canada. The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program says 10 kids died from using these electronic devices in 2025, six of them in Ontario. Twelve more patients were admitted to intensive care units and 26 were treated in the hospital for more than two days. The total number of severe e-scooter and e-bike injuries last year involving prolonged hospital stays, ICU admissions or death for paediatric patients was 57. The data was included in the CPSP’s annual report, jointly released by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society Thursday. Researchers surveyed 800 physicians in the field to gather the information. The report is one of the first to show the national scale of severe injuries for young people. It doesn’t include data from previous years, but Canadian Institute for Health Information data released a year ago shows hospitalizations involving e-scooters for kids between five and 17 years old had increased from 33 in 2022-2023 to 53 in 2023-2024. These disheartening results came as no surprise to doctors in emergency departments and trauma centers across the country who have witnessed a dramatic rise in injuries associated with these personal powered micromobility devices, which can also include e-skateboards, e-unicycles and hoverboards. The age minimum for riders in most provinces is 16, yet almost 80 per cent of cases were reported in children under 16, highlighting the need for better policy co-ordination and public education to clearly communicate the laws, the report says. As a pediatric emergency physician at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Daniel Rosenfield said he rarely works a shift without seeing an e-scooter injury, an increase that he says has been “essentially exponential” over the last few years. And he clarifies, that’s not just for something like a broken arm. Almost half of the cases reported in the new data involved a head injury. That could result in a brain bleed, fractured skull or concussion. Neurosurgery was the most common surgery. “I think we’ve just hit a tipping point where the availability of these devices and frankly, popularity of these devices has just eclipsed what we’ve ever seen before,” said Rosenfield, also chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Injury Prevention Committee. At SickKids, Rosenfield said only one patient came into the emergency department with an e-scooter related injury in 2020. That climbed to 26 in 2023, 46 in 2024, and 107 in 2025. “The problem right now is that you have a device that is marketed as a toy that is a high speed motor vehicle that children are using,” he said, adding that these devices can go 45 km/h. The sheer variability of current regulations for e-scooters and e-bikes, depending on where you live and what device you’re riding, has also left Canadians unclear and confused about the laws, Rosenfield said. In Ontario, some cities, like Brampton and Mississauga, are part of an e-scooter pilot program that allows riders ages 16 and older to move at speeds up to 24 km/h. Neighbouring Toronto however, has banned e-scooters on public roads, sidewalks and park pathways, though many ignore the bylaw. You can also still buy an e-scooter in the city. On the flipside, in Alberta, you’re not allowed to ride a privately owned e-scooter on roads or sidewalks, but you can rent one in Edmonton and Calgary, where licensed vendors operate. However, you can only take the rentals on city paths. Dr. Brian Rowe, who works in emergency and urgent care in Edmonton, said it feels like there is a disconnect in the sense that the city and the rental companies are making money, “and nobody really cares about the healthcare system and the disabled citizens.” “I think you could, at a provincial level, very clearly implement strategies that would be consistent across the province,” Rowe said. Quebec recently extended its e-scooter pilot to 2028, which allows riders as young as 14 to get behind the handlebars and travel at speeds of up to 25 km/ h. The age minimum in Nova Scotia is also 14 years old. Since Quebec introduced its pilot in 2023, e-scooter and e-bike injuries have increased tenfold at Montreal Children’s Hospital Trauma Centre, said Deborah Friedman, the hospital’s trauma director. She said most cases don’t involve cars, and are a result of a person being thrown off of the high-speed device onto the pavement. Friedman said her greatest concern is that close to 60 per cent of children injured and brought to her hospital this year were under the age of 14. She has been advocating for Quebec to at least raise the age to 16, though she says even that is too young. Also, she says there need to be stricter rules and enforcement of helmets, which she often sees unclipped and inadequately secured in patients who come in with facial fractures, such as broken jaws. There also needs to be more accountability from retailers for the role they play in marketing these products to kids. “I think it’s important for policymakers to really collaborate with the trauma centers who are the ones seeing the reality firsthand.” Some weekends, she said they have had five severe e-scooter trauma injuries at the children’s hospital. “I’m almost afraid to see what the numbers are going to be like now that the kids are coming back from holiday and camp, and will be back out on the streets and possibly using them to go to school,” Friedman said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content. Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
