Households and the Environment: Environmental engagement, 2015

Released: 2017-06-05

To mark World Environment Day, we take a look at how millions of households across Canada are volunteering to conserve and protect the environment.

Almost one in five (17%) Canadian households engaged in unpaid activities aimed at conserving or protecting the environment or wildlife in 2015. Households in Prince Edward Island (24%) were most likely to report these activities while households in Quebec (10%) were the least likely.

Engaged households in Quebec most likely to volunteer on behalf of a group or organization

Over half (54%) of the households that reported volunteering to conserve and protect the environment or wildlife did so on behalf of a group or organization. Among households in Quebec that were engaged in volunteer work, 70% did so as part of a group compared with 39% of households in Alberta.

New Brunswick and Alberta households that are environmentally engaged most likely to work independently

Over two-thirds of households (70%) that reported volunteering in environmental conservation and protection activities did so independently.

Engaged households in New Brunswick (84%) and Alberta (84%) were most likely to have worked independently to conserve and protect the environment, while engaged households in Quebec (53%) were the least likely.

Shoreline and roadside cleanups done by two-fifths of engaged households

About 4 in 10 engaged households participated in cleaning up shorelines, beaches, rivers, lakes or roadsides in 2015. Households in Prince Edward Island (50%) were most likely to report this activity while households in Quebec (31%) the least likely.

Almost one in five engaged households monitor or assess wildlife and natural habitats

In 2015, 17% of engaged households reported monitoring and assessing wildlife species and natural habitats such as bird counts.

Almost one-tenth of Canadian households report that a household member volunteered their time to teach others about nature

In 2015, 8% of Canadian households reported that a member of the household volunteered their time to teach others about nature, with households in British Columbia (10%), Nova Scotia (9%) and Alberta (9%) most likely to have reported this.

For more information, you can take a look at some Canadian facts compiled to mark World Environment Day... by the numbers and visit the World Environment Day website.

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; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).