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Air quality

Domain

Environment

Subdomain

Environment and people

Indicator

Air quality

Note: This indicator is a headline indicator. Headline indicators are intended to provide a high-level assessment of overall quality of life in Canada.

Air Quality data snapshot
Description - Air quality data snapshot

85% of the population lived in areas of Canada where outdoor concentrations of air pollutants were within the 2020 Canadian Air Ambient Quality Standards.

Air quality
  2016 to 2018 2017 to 2019 2018 to 2020 2019 to 2021
Population in areas of Canada where outdoor concentrations of air pollutants were within the 2020 Canadian Air Ambient Quality Standards 68% 71% 64% 85%

Sources: Statistics Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Definition

Proportion of the population living in areas of Canada where outdoor concentrations of air pollutants are within the 2020 Canadian Air Ambient Quality Standards (CAAQS).

Measurement

This indicator monitors general improvements to air quality using the 2020 Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS). More specifically, it tracks the percentage of the population living in areas where outdoor concentrations of air pollutants were less than or equal to the 2020 standards.

This indicator is calculated based on air pollutant concentration data and population statistics. The air pollutant concentration data are taken from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canada-wide Air Quality Database. The population data were retrieved from Statistics Canada's demographic statistics. It is calculated by comparing the spatially averaged pollutant concentration for each geographical area with the respective 2020 Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards. The total population of all geographical areas where the average concentrations for all pollutants are less than or equal to the respective standards are compared to the national population.

For information on the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards, please refer to the report Canada's Air from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.

For more information on this indicator and its measurement, please refer to Population exposure to outdoor air pollutants from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Data sources

For key results on air quality, please refer to Population exposure to outdoor air pollutants from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Data visualizations

For visuals of air quality data, please refer to Population exposure to outdoor air pollutants from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Data analysis

For key results on air quality, please refer to Population exposure to outdoor air pollutants from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Additional information

Canadians are exposed to air pollutants on a daily basis, and this exposure can result in adverse health effects. Exposure to some air pollutants, even at low levels, has been linked to increased heart and respiratory problems, leading to increased hospitalization, emergency room visits and premature death.

Frameworks

This indicator aligns with the following frameworks:

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