Ottawa: The Atlantic provinces in Canada have the greenest cities.
In 2022, the greenest large urban population centres in Canada were Saint-Jérôme, Quebec (93.2%); St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (92%); and Kanata, Ontario (91.6%), Moncton, New Brunswick (91.5%); and Sherbrooke, Quebec (90.6%). Population centres in the Atlantic provinces had the highest proportion of land area that was classed as green, while those in the Prairies had the lowest greenness on average.
In 2022, 72% of the land area of 1,016 cities and towns across Canada was classed as green. Urban greenness reflects the presence and health of vegetation in summer across the urban landscape, including all publicly and privately owned green space and built-up areas. The development of urban ecosystem accounts is part of Statistics Canada’s new Census of Environment program.
Statistics Canada says that Urban greenness is one measure that can be used to assess the condition and health of an urban environment, which contributes to more liveable communities and overall quality of life for residents.
Areas with trees and vegetation improve local air quality, increase cooling effects, reduce wind speeds, absorb water runoff, provide habitat for wildlife and offer recreational opportunities for people living in local communities.
In 2022, 72% of the land area of 1,016 cities and towns across Canada was classed as green. Urban greenness reflects the presence and health of vegetation in summer across the urban landscape, including all publicly and privately owned green space and built-up areas.
Overall, urban greenness in Canada decreased from 2000 to 2022. Land use and climate conditions are important factors that can affect the level of greenness in a given location and period. They can result in both long- and short-term changes in greenness levels, the agency said.
Comparing the most recent five-year period (2018 to 2022) with the baseline period (2000 to 2004) shows that average urban greenness declined by 8.0 percentage points at the Canada level. Decreases in urban greenness over these periods were seen in all provinces.
The agency said that these decreases were most pronounced in large urban population centres, which saw a loss of 10.5 percentage points in the five-year greenness average relative to the baseline period. All large population centres saw a decline in greenness when comparing the most recent period with the baseline.
