With summer in full swing, many Canadians are likely seeing a growing number of e-scooters out on the roads — and doctors say they’re seeing a “huge” number of children coming into hospitals after accidents.
That comes after last year saw a 22 per cent spike in hospitalizations from e-scooter injuries across the country, according to data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
“We are in summer right now, so certainly highest volumes occur around now up to September,” said Dr. April Kam, pediatric emergency medicine division head at McMaster Children’s Hospital. “We’re seeing a huge number of kids getting hurt. And unfortunately, we don’t think they need to be getting hurt.”
“What we’re seeing locally reflects the growing national problem.”
Between 2024 and 2025, 18 kids up to the age of four suffered injuries related to riding e-scooters, as did 241 between the ages of five and 17, data from CIHI stated.
More than 1,000 Canadians were also hospitalized due to e-scooter-related injuries that year.
A July 2025 Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) study states that while e-scooters “significantly transformed urban mobility in the past decade by offering convenient, eco-friendly and affordable alternatives to traditional motor vehicles,” they have also created “some new challenges for urban planning and road safety.”
Crashes were found to more often occur in “densely populated areas and on sidewalks,” with injuries mostly associated with falls, causing “upper extremities including face, neck, arms, torso and soft tissue injuries.”
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When it comes to children riding e-scooters, the risk of injury is much higher than for adults, according to Dr. Sheena Belisle, an assistant professor in Western University’s department of pediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.
“Many of these children can’t even see over the top of the handlebars and they don’t have the co-ordination to ride an e- scooter.”
Kam said that the majority of children’s injuries from riding e-scooters “aren’t just scrapes and bruises.”
“Injury patterns are fractures, skull fractures, concussions, abdominal injuries including kidney, liver damage, things like that,” she said.
Increased use and availability of e-scooters can also drive kids away from getting regular exercise.
“It’s really important for children to get out, enjoy the fresh air, but it’s also really important to them to be exercising,” Belisle said. “There’s just so many more benefits to them riding an actual bike or a push scooter or rollerblading rather than riding something where they’re not getting that physical activity.”
E-scooters have become increasingly accessible in many communities in recent years, including some options to rent them for set times and distances.
“I can imagine that as access increases even further than it has to allow children to get a hold of them if they aren’t a family that owns one, it would likely increase the risk of further injury,” Belisle said.
“That may even be a greater risk.”
While Canada has not adopted a national ban for kids using e-scooters, many cities and provinces have implemented their own bylaws and rules.
Currently, Ontario, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan allow youth 16 years and older to drive e-scooters.
In London, Ont., use of e-scooters is illegal for those 15 years old and younger, while riders between 16 and 17 years old are required to wear a helmet. They are also not permitted to be used on sidewalks.
Riders must be at least 14 years or older to ride e-scooters in Nova Scotia and Quebec, while Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador do not have any age restrictions.
British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan mandate all riders to wear a helmet.
“Broadly speaking, legislation and regulations governing e-bikes and e-scooters are not well developed,” the CAA study states. “Federal regulations determine what types of devices may enter the country, as the manufacturing of e-bikes and e-scooters is not common in Canada.”
While both Kam and Belisle acknowledge the appeal kids can have to e-scooters, keeping these devices recognized solely as modes of transportation remains key.
Kam said more education — and potentially tougher rules — could help.
“I feel like municipalities and provinces can help with maybe more explicit legislation or fines or things like that, as appropriate, and then public awareness campaigns or school-based education.”
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