Linking the indicators to society and the economy

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What is happening?

• Population size, distribution and density play a major role in determining the impacts that human activities have on the environment. Between 1990 and 2005, Canada’s population grew by 17%, from 27.7 million people to 32.3 million. With growing numbers of people living in and around urban areas, the potential for impacts on local and regional air and surface water quality are multiplied. From 1991 to 2006, urban populations increased by 21%, while rural populations decreased by 2%.

• Growth in economic activity brings benefits in the form of increased income, but can also lead to greater pressure on the environment. For instance, economic growth has led to greater energy use by industries, which in turn has resulted in increased emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.  Nevertheless, some large energy consuming industries are becoming more energy efficient, thereby offsetting some of the growth in emissions. For instance, the manufacturing industry reduced its energy requirements to produce a unit of goods and services by 33% between 1990 and 2002.¹ However, total growth in sales of manufactured goods and services outpaced the energy-efficiency improvements, resulting in an overall 4% increase in total manufacturing energy use. 

• Consumption behaviours also have an effect on the environment. For example, close to one fifth (17%) of the energy consumed in Canada is used directly by households to heat and power their homes, something that impacts both air quality and greenhouse gases emissions. 

Figure 5 Total, urban and rural population, Canada, 1991 to 2006

A closer look at household behaviours

The behaviours of individual Canadians have an important effect on the environment. The 2006 Households and the Environment Survey, conducted under the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators initiative, measured many household behaviours related to the environment and provides context to the indicators in this report.

The survey findings show that, since 1994, Canadians’ environmental priorities and concerns have led to some changes in household behaviour: 

• Over 55% of Canadian households now use compact fluorescent bulbs. Between 1994 and 2006, the proportion using at least one compact fluorescent light bulb almost tripled.

• Forty percent of households now have a programmable thermostat, more than double the number in 1994.  Of those households who owned this type of thermostat and who programmed it, two out of three turned down the heat at night. On the other hand, 17% of the households equipped with programmable thermostats had not, in fact, programmed them.

• Use of water-saving devices, such as water-saving showerheads and low-flow toilets, is increasing. For example, 54% of Canadian households reported having a water-saving showerhead as opposed to 42% in 1994. 

However, other behaviours observed through the survey indicate that environmental values are still competing with the practical realities of personal time use, comfort and convenience. 

• The use of chemical pesticides, which can affect water quality, was down only slightly in 2006 from 1994 levels. Also, over 39% of households flushed down the drain or put in the garbage their leftover pharmaceutical products.

• During the warmer months, 73% of Canadians working outside the home travel to work by motor vehicle, 14% walk or cycle, and 10% use public transit. In colder months, the proportion of commuters who travel by car increased to 81%. In both seasons, well over half of all commuters travel alone to work in a motor vehicle. This has implications for both air quality and greenhouse gases emissions.

Note

1. Calculation uses real gross output (the value of an industry's sales corrected for inflation).