Toyota tells Quebeckers to leave their cars at home.

The Toyota Dealer Association of Quebec is telling Quebeckers to “use their cars only when they really need to”. In one television spot, a family rides bikes to the cottage instead of driving in the family's Toyota Rav4. In another, a young professional takes the train to work instead of his Yaris.

It’s a long way from the kind of advertising aimed at road warriors with slogans like “Built for drivers” but it should resonate particularly well with Quebeckers.

According to a recent Ipsos-Reid survey, Canadians have already started to change their commuting habits as a result of high gas prices. In fact, four in ten (37%) commuters say that in the last six months, the rising price of gas has meant that they are now walking to work more often than before, while some have made other changes to their commuting habits such as using a more gas-efficient car (31%), carpooling (24%), or using public transit more often (19%).

Quebecers and Atlantic Canadians (43%) are most likely to say that they have been walking more often, and Quebecers are also most likely to say they have switched to more fuel-efficient car (41%), and are using public transit more often (23%).

Walking to work more often:
Canadians living in Quebec and Atlantic Canada (43%) are slightly more likely than residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (39%), Ontario (36%), Alberta (31%), and British Columbia (30%) to walk to work more often now.

Using a more gas-efficient car:
Quebecers (41%) are most likely to have switched to using a more gas-efficient car in the last six months, followed by residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (30%), Ontario (28%), Atlantic Canada (27%), British Columbia (26%), and Alberta (25%).

Carpooling:
Residents of Atlantic Canada (33%) are most likely to have been carpooling more frequently over the last six months, followed by those living in British Columbia (25%), Ontario (25%), Quebec (25%), Alberta (15%), and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (9%).

Using public transit more often:
Residents of Quebec (23%) are most likely to have been using public transit more often in the last six months, followed by those living in Ontario (20%), British Columbia (18%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (16%), Alberta (13%), and Atlantic Canada (10%).

Working from home more often:
Residents of Atlantic Canada (20%) are most likely to have been working from home more often over the last six months, followed by those living in Alberta (18%), Quebec (15%), Ontario (13%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (12%), and British Columbia (7%).

Moved to a home closer to work:
Canadians living in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia (10%) are most likely to have moved to a home closer to work in the last six months, followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (8%), Alberta (5%), and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (4%).

Source: Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from June 10 to June 12, 2008