This country profile features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.
Environment at a Glance Indicators
Report
Table of contents
Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Canada
Copy link to CanadaContext
Copy link to ContextCanada is the world’s second largest country, covering nearly 10 million km2. Canada’s open and diversified economy is more reliant on natural resources than most other OECD countries. Canada is one of the world’s top five producers of crude oil, natural gas, primary aluminum and copper. It is also a major exporter of pulp, paper and a number of agricultural commodities such as wheat, canola, soybeans and vegetables. Canadians generally enjoy a high quality of life.
Geography, climate and land use varies widely. A broad belt of coniferous forest (essentially boreal forest) crosses Canada from east to west; agriculture mainly concentrates in the south and southwest; and tundra and permanent ice dominate Canada’s far north (covering roughly a quarter of total land area). Much of the country is uninhabited or only thinly populated due to the severe climate. Its vast territory hosts a great diversity of territorial and marine ecosystems and large tracts of it are undisturbed wilderness. It hosts about one-quarter of remaining wetlands, as well as the world’s longest coastline.
Canada’s natural resources include about 9% of the world’s renewable freshwater supply, 10% of its forests and significant reserves of oil (Alberta), gas (Alberta), coal (western Canada) and other minerals (e.g. copper, nickel, gold, lead, silver, uranium, zinc).
Climate change
Copy link to Climate changeEnergy mix
Copy link to Energy mixAir quality
Copy link to Air qualityAir emissions
Copy link to Air emissionsFreshwater resources
Copy link to Freshwater resourcesIntensity of use of freshwater resources
Copy link to Intensity of use of freshwater resourcesWaste, materials and circular economy
Copy link to Waste, materials and circular economyMunicipal waste
Copy link to Municipal wasteMaterial consumption
Copy link to Material consumptionBiodiversity
Copy link to BiodiversityProtected areas
Copy link to Protected areasReferences and further reading
OECD (2017), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Canada 2017, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264279612-en