CBC News
· collected 2026-10-02 · by Bobby Hristova, Madeline McNair, Asha Tomlinson
Hidden cameras show some stores unlocking speed limits on e-bikes, selling e-scooters that go up to 120 km/h
Marketplace visited stores in GTA to see recommended ages and maximum speeds available
Whether it's children cruising down a suburban street, drivers delivering food downtown or a daredevil taking their need for speed to the highway, electric bikes and electric scooters are becoming more common across Canada.
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bikes → hide → Canada
A new hidden camera investigation by Marketplace shows how some stores are selling e-scooters and e-bikes with top speeds much higher than provincial speed limits and with recommended rider ages younger than provincial regulations allow.
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regulations → hide → ages
Most provincial traffic laws limit e-bikes and e-scooters to 32 kilometres per hour or less.
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laws → limit → hour
Age restrictions, meanwhile, vary across the country, ranging from 12 to 18.
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restrictions → vary → 18
The territories and some provinces have no minimum age to ride.
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territories → have → age
That means it is mostly up to local police services to enforce these rules at a time when the number of injuries caused by these vehicles is climbing yearly, and public calls are growing for stronger, consistent rules nationwide and better enforcement.
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calls → mean → rules
Marketplace visited some of Canada's most well-known big box and specialty shops in the Greater Toronto Area — Amego, Emmo, EZbike, Best Buy, Canadian Tire and Costco — that sell popular brands.
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that → visit → brands
The undercover journalists tested how easy it is to find an e-bike or e-scooter that either had a maximum speed or age recommendation contravening Ontario limits.
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it → test → limits
E-scooters cannot travel faster than 24 km/h on a flat surface, and e-bikes cannot travel faster than 32 km/h, according to provincial laws.
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bikes → travel → laws
10 of 12 stores exceeded Ontario limits
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stores → exceed → limits
Of the 12 stores journalists visited undercover, salespeople at six stores told us or showed us how to bypass built-in speed limits.
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salespeople → visit → limits
While most stores reminded us of Ontario rules, 10 stores sold e-bikes or e-scooters with maximum speeds beyond Ontario limits.
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stores → remind → limits
Stores are allowed to sell the e-bikes no matter how fast they go, but Michael Pasquali, founder of the Canadian Electric Bicycle Association (CEBA), says it's "heartbreaking."
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it → allow → Association
"Shops that are selling products that are way beyond the legal limit, they're putting a lot of people in danger."
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they → sell → danger
Seven stores also had e-scooters for sale with manufacturer-recommended rider ages under 16, though some medical experts say e-bikes and e-scooters are too unsafe for anyone under 16.
- Watch the full Marketplace investigation on Friday, Oct. 2, on CBC-TV and YouTube.
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bikes → have → TV
It's not just a toy; it's a motorized vehicle," said April Kam, an emergency physician at McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton.
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Kam → say → Hamilton
"We're seeing kids who are presenting with brain bleeds, with abdominal injuries, solid organ injuries."
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who → see → injuries
Recently released data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows 150 people ages 15 and under were hospitalized for falls involving an e-scooter in the 2025-2026 fiscal year across Canada, compared to 54 the year prior.
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people → release → 54
That's an increase of roughly 178 per cent — and reflects a steady year-over-year increase for the last three years.
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That → reflect → years
The number of head injuries related to e-scooters has also increased, from 50 in the 2022-2023 fiscal year to 157 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
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number → relate → year
Fractures, dislocations and or muscle and tendon injuries have more than doubled in that same period, with 544 last fiscal year.
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Fractures → double → 544
The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program released its own survey in August and found 10 children have died from using devices like e-scooters and e-bikes in 2025.
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children → release → 2025
Meanwhile, sales for the electric rides have more than quadrupled in Canada since 2019, with roughly 372,000 e-bikes and 76,000 e-scooters sold so far this year, according to Statista.
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sales → quadruple → Statista
Marketing to kids 'deceiving' parents, doctor says
The youngest age recommendation the Marketplace journalists found was at Canadian Tire — a Razor e-scooter that hits a maximum speed of 16 km/h and is recommended for children who are eight or older.
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who → market → children
"That just boggles my mind.
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That → boggle → mind
Kids at this age don't necessarily have the developmental ability to maneuver these motorized vehicles," said Kam, who is also president of the Canadian Paediatric Society's emergency medicine section.
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who → have → section
"It's very concerning that there's this huge market for selling children these motorized vehicles, essentially, and deceiving the parents and family, marketing them as toys."
Razor, the manufacturer of that particular e-scooter at Canadian Tire, said in a statement its device meets U.S. safety guidelines that say eight-year-olds can operate slow-moving motorized vehicles.
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olds → be → vehicles
The company said its e-scooter is safe when properly used, isn't meant to be on public roads and that riders should follow local laws.
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riders → say → laws
In statements to Marketplace, Best Buy, Canadian Tire and Emmo said customers should follow local laws.
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customers → say → laws
Best Buy said rules for e-bikes and e-scooters are evolving and that it tries to keep product information updated.
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information → say → bikes
Costco didn't comment on Marketplace's findings.
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Costco → comment → findings
E-bike stores can modify speed controls
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stores → modify → controls
At an EZbike location in Richmond Hill, a salesperson told undercover journalists it sells e-scooters that can reach 120 km/h — a speed that could get you a ticket on most highways.
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that → tell → highways
At other stores, some e-bikes have their speed limited to 32 kilometres, adhering to Ontario's rules.
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bikes → have → rules
But when asked if they modify vehicles, a salesperson at an Emmo location in Toronto said yes, they could modify a bike to go up to 150 km/h for off-road use.
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they → ask → use
"That's horrible," said Pasquali, of CEBA, who owns his own e-bike store in Hamilton.
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who → say → Hamilton
Emmo and the company that operates the Emmo stores Marketplace visited said in a statement that a product's technical capabilities should not be confused with what's allowed on the roads.
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what → operate → roads
But as an employee at an Emmo in Vaughan, Ont., described it: bypassing the speed limiter is "just like a toggle switch."
Passing on that kind of advice is "extremely unethical," Pasquali said.
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Pasquali → describe → advice
"If you're showing consumers how to push a button and make it faster or offering to modify it to go faster with the caveat that you keep it off road, well, that's technically right.
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that → show → road
But most consumers aren't doing that, right?
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consumers → do → that
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
