Waymo has approached the City of Calgary about running its driverless ride-hailing service there and has been lobbying Alberta’s provincial government, eleven days after the Alphabet unit named Toronto as its first Canadian market.
The city confirmed that Waymo “has shown interest in running its service in the city,” but said several regulatory hurdles remained before passengers could book a driverless ride, according to CityNews.
Even after provincial approval, Calgary may still need to amend its vehicle-for-hire bylaw, the city said.
Waymo said it is contacting officials across Canada as part of its global expansion.
Alberta studies the rules
Alberta’s transportation ministry declined to discuss specific proposals under review, saying applications are considered individually, and said it is examining how other jurisdictions regulate autonomous vehicles, according to the report.
The City of Edmonton said Waymo had not contacted its vehicle-for-hire team.
Alberta has no legislation specific to autonomous vehicles, and its Traffic Safety Act does not explicitly say how they are governed, law firm Borden Ladner Gervais wrote in a 2023 review of Canadian rules.
Toronto comes first
Waymo announced on October 16 that it would expand to Toronto, with the goal of welcoming its first riders in 2028.
“Expanding into Canada marks an important milestone in Waymo’s global journey,” co-Chief Executive Officer Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement.
The company said its vehicles would start driving Toronto streets manually within days to build high-definition maps, followed by testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel before any driverless operation.
Toronto-based Element Fleet Management will manage the fleet, and Waymo and its partners plan to create hundreds of jobs in fleet maintenance, validation driving and customer service. Waymo noted that Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is a long-term investor and Magna International its manufacturing partner.
Waymo received approval to take part in Ontario’s automated vehicle pilot program. The company had told Toronto City Hall of its plans to apply during a lobbying push in December 2025, The Toronto Star reported in April.
A harder road in B.C.
Waymo has also lobbied British Columbia, where the law does not allow driverless vehicles.
“B.C. laws do not permit driverless vehicles on roads, and this includes parking lots accessed by the public,” the province’s public insurer, ICBC, told Daily Hive in March.
B.C.’s transportation ministry said 2024 amendments to its Motor Vehicle Act would allow highly automated vehicles in future, but only if they meet federal safety rules and are authorized for import and sale. Waymo had not received a federal exemption, the ministry said.
“We are engaging with officials across Canada to help explain our technology and advocate for legal frameworks,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said at the time.
Expanding on three continents
Canada is one of several new markets Waymo has announced this month.
On October 20, it said it would expand to the Madrid region in Spain, aiming for first riders in 2027. Uber and WeRide won Spain’s first Level 4 permit for a Madrid fleet in September.
At home, Waymo opened its service to all riders in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa on October 14, and began offering rides at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on October 21. Earlier this month, it asked riders to lobby Los Angeles officials for access to LAX.
On October 6, Waymo unveiled a silver version of its Ojai vehicle with an improved interior.
On Tuesday, the company added nearly 250 square miles of coverage across Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, including a new BART connection at Berryessa Station.
Waymo operates robotaxi services in 15 US cities and is testing in London and Tokyo, according to TechCrunch. It closed a $5 billion term loan on October 8, its first debt financing, after raising $16 billion in equity earlier this year.
Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometers (about 250 million miles), with 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than human drivers in the cities where it operates.
Its expansion has met resistance in some US cities, including union pushback in Washington state and a delay call from Washington, D.C.’s likely next mayor.
