GOLDSTEIN: Canada's air quality among best in the world, report finds
Canada ranks better than any other member of G7 nations, according to new study by Fraser Institute
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While often portrayed both domestically and internationally as an environmental laggard, Canada has some of the cleanest air in the world — better than any other member of the G7 nations — according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
The study Air Quality in Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is based on six indicators covering three pollutant categories — fine particulate matter, ground-level ozone and nitrogen oxides — using data collected from 2019 to 2022.
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Canada received a rating of 84.04 out of a perfect 100.
That puts us well ahead of the six other members of the G7 including the U.S (75.66), U.K (73.44), Germany (69.55), France (68.82), Japan (51.67) and Italy (47.40), which was found to have the worst air quality of the 31 developed countries that are members of the OECD.
Of all 31 countries, Canada placed eighth in air quality behind Iceland (97.70), New Zealand (89.83), Estonia (88.71), Ireland (88.64), Sweden (87.83), Norway (87.64) and Finland (85.47).
Estimated morbidity and mortality due to fine particulate matter — a form of pollution created by multiple sources including motor vehicles, oil and gas extraction, heating systems and forest fires — was also low in Canada, which ranked in fifth place with a score of 86.6, suggesting a relatively low overall health risk compared to other developed countries.
Canada ranked in ninth place for the share of people exposed to air pollution levels that meet the World Health Organization’s guideline.
“As Earth Day approaches (on Tuesday), Canadians should know that they breathe some of the cleanest air on Earth,” said study co-author Elmira Aliakbari, director of natural resource studies for the fiscally conservative think-tank.
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“Before policymakers add yet more regulations and costs to Canadians in the quest for cleaner air, they should understand the reality of air quality in Canada.
“These results offer compelling evidence that Canada enjoys excellent air quality in both absolute terms and in comparison to its OECD peers … but also highlighting areas with room for improvement.”
On ground-level ozone, Canada performed near the middle of the pack in terms of exposure and estimated health risk, ranking 12th and 15th respectively out of the 31 OECD countries.
Canada ranked 14th, with a score of 96.1, for exposure to nitrogen oxides.
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