Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use: Hospital and postsecondary campuses, 2024
Released: 2026-06-26
In the context of a changing climate, adaptation measures are becoming increasingly important in Canada. Energy efficiency strategies are intended to mitigate the impacts of climate change, including the Canada Green Buildings Strategy, which is designed to achieve net-zero emissions for buildings by 2050 through building construction codes and energy-saving incentives. The 2024 Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use, specifically the hospital and postsecondary campus component, provides data on the energy demand and consumption of these campuses across all 10 provinces.
In 2024, there were 780 hospital campuses in the provinces, occupying a total floor area of 24.3 million square metres (m2). The total energy consumed by these campuses in 2024 was 51.8 million gigajoules (GJ), while the average energy use intensity (EUI) was 2.06 gigajoules per square metre (GJ/m2). Hospital campuses in Alberta (2.46 GJ/m2) had the highest average EUI, while those in the Atlantic provinces (1.77 GJ/m2) had the lowest. Relative to the revised 2019 figures, the average EUI for hospital campuses decreased in 2024. In 2019, the average EUI at the Canada level was 2.34 GJ/m2, with regional results varying from 1.82 GJ/m2 in the Atlantic provinces to 2.81 GJ/m2 in the Prairies and territories.
In 2024, there were 650 postsecondary campuses in the provinces, the majority being colleges and CEGEPs. University campuses consumed close to 36.6 million GJ of energy, while college and CEGEP campuses collectively consumed almost 9.6 million GJ of energy. University campuses were more energy intensive, with an average EUI of 1.12 GJ/m2, compared with 0.86 GJ/m2 for college and CEGEP campuses. The average EUI of university campuses was highest in Alberta (1.59 GJ/m2) and lowest in the Atlantic provinces (0.87 GJ/m2). The average EUI of college and CEGEP campuses ranged from 0.75 GJ/m2 in British Columbia to 1.50 GJ/m2 in Alberta. Similar to hospital campuses, the average EUI for postsecondary campuses decreased from 2019 to 2024. For example, for university campuses, the revised 2019 results indicated an average EUI of 1.42 GJ/m2 at the Canada level, with regional results varying from 1.02 GJ/m2 in British Columbia to 1.74 GJ/m2 in the Prairies and territories.
According to the Households and the Environment Survey, average household energy consumption in Canada in 2021 was 85.4 GJ, meaning that the total energy used by hospital campuses in 2024 was equivalent to the annual energy use of around 606,300 households and that of postsecondary campuses was equivalent to around 540,900 households.
Note to readers
The 2024 Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use was conducted in partnership with Natural Resources Canada. The survey consists of two components: one that collected information on commercial and institutional buildings and a second that collected information on hospital and postsecondary campuses. This release describes the results of the hospital and postsecondary campus component. The release describing the results of the commercial and institutional building component will be published later this summer.
There are some notable differences between the 2019 and 2024 survey cycles. Specifically, for the hospital and postsecondary campus component, technical institutes and the territories are excluded from the 2024 cycle. There is also a difference in the calculation of total energy use between cycles. As such, direct comparisons between cycles should be done with caution.
The 2019 data have been revised. Revised regional 2019 data tables are available upon request.
The hospital and postsecondary campus component used Statistics Canada's Business Register as the survey frame and was designed to produce data at the regional level. The survey results are based on a census of hospitals and postsecondary establishments in all provinces.
To be in scope for the hospital and postsecondary campus component of the survey, the campus must occupy at least one building completely. If the campus only partially occupies a building, it is not in scope. Business schools, computer and management training institutions, technical and trade schools, and adult and continuing education schools were excluded from this survey.
Definitions
A gigajoule is a unit of measure for energy consumption equivalent to one billion joules; one gigajoule of electricity could keep a 60-watt light bulb continuously lit for six months.
Energy use intensity is the total energy consumed in gigajoules divided by the total floor area in square metres for the campus. Higher energy use per square metre of floor area is considered more energy intensive.
Average energy use intensity is obtained by totalling the energy use intensity then dividing it by the number of campuses; this is done by campus type and region. The result illustrates the energy efficiency of an average campus.
A campus includes a building or groups of buildings and their associated grounds that together form the entirety of the postsecondary or hospital campus.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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