Economic and Social Reports, September 2026

Released: 2026-09-23

There are four new articles available in today's release of Economic and Social Reports.

Household environmental practices and behaviours differ across homes and regions

The study "Understanding factors shaping household environmental practices and behaviours in Canada" examines how composting kitchen waste, hazardous waste disposal, and sustainable purchasing decisions varied by sociodemographic, dwelling, and geographic characteristics, and by interactions with nature.

The proportion of households that composted kitchen waste varied by dwelling characteristics, duration of residency, and location. Higher rates were observed in detached or ground-oriented dwellings (66% to 74%) than apartments and/or flats (49%), and among residents who had lived in their dwelling for 10 or more years (69%) compared with more recent residents (60% to 64%). Compared with larger urban centres (75%), lower composting rates were observed in other population areas (53% to 64%), while rates were highest in Prince Edward Island (96%) and Nova Scotia (92%).

Hazardous waste disposal practices were associated with a more select set of sociodemographic, dwelling and geographic characteristics than composting. Adult-only households (71%) were less likely than senior-only households (83%) to use controlled disposal methods, while households in single-detached dwellings (82%) were more likely to use those methods than those in apartments or flats (62%).

This is the first study to jointly examine the impact of all sociodemographic and dwelling factors, and of interactions with nature characteristics, on environmental behaviours and practices. By identifying where participation in these behaviours is lower, these findings can support future research as well as inform policy related to community planning.

Licensed and unlicensed child care homes provided care to about 150,000 children under five not in school in 2024

The Canadian child care sector has been undergoing a period of transformation following the 2021 Federal Budget which committed over $27.2 billion towards making high-quality child care more affordable, inclusive, flexible, and accessible. Using data from the Canadian Survey on the Provision of Child Care Services, the report "Characteristics of home-based child cares serving children aged 0 to 5 years in Canada, 2024" found that there were about 17,200 licensed and 11,700 unlicensed home-based child cares providing care to children aged 0 to 5 years in April 2024.

In 2024, about 102,100 children less than five years of age not attending school received care in licensed child care homes, while around 49,200 children less than five years of age not attending school received care in unlicensed child care homes. About four-fifths of licensed and unlicensed homes were at maximum capacity and unable to accommodate additional children.

Outside of Quebec, full-time daily fees charged to parents were on average $40 in licensed homes and $41 in unlicensed homes. The main reason given by unlicensed home-based providers for not being licensed was wanting control over their own businesses. Further data collection and analysis are needed to provide insights into the changing child care landscape in Canada.

Childhood immigrant journeypersons earn less than Canadian-born journeypersons before, at, and after certification

The study "Early career economic outcomes of childhood immigrant and Canadian-born journeypersons in Canada" examined annual employment income trajectories among childhood immigrants (individuals admitted to Canada before age 18) and Canadian-born journeypersons certified during the period from 2008 to 2018 in Canada, across five time points (four and two years before certification; at certification; and two and four years after certification).

The results showed that childhood immigrant journeypersons had lower incomes than Canadian-born journeypersons across all time points. The income gap widened from about $4,700 four years before certification to approximately $8,600 at certification, before narrowing to roughly $7,800 four years after certification.

However, differences in median employment incomes varied by trade. Childhood immigrants earned about $1,300 to $10,500 less than Canadian-born journeypersons in several industrial and mechanical trades, including heavy-duty equipment technicians, industrial mechanics, automotive service technicians, and refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics. By contrast, childhood immigrants earned approximately $1,000 to $10,900 more in selected construction trades, including cabinetmakers, carpenters, painters and decorators, and roofers and shinglers.

After accounting for sociodemographic, program, trade, and employment characteristics, childhood immigrant journeypersons earned approximately 9% less four years before certification and about 6% to 7% less at subsequent time points relative to Canadian-born journeypersons. These findings highlight persistent earnings differences between childhood immigrant and Canadian-born journeypersons across the certification trajectory, demonstrating differences in early labour market outcomes within the skilled trades in Canada.

Producing timely experimental estimates of interprovincial labour mobility

When workers relocate to provinces and territories experiencing strong economic growth or significant labour shortages, it helps alleviate regional hiring pressures and supports a more efficient allocation of labour. Interprovincial labour mobility is therefore an essential mechanism through which the Canadian labour market responds to regional economic disparities, strengthening overall labour market efficiency.

The significance of interprovincial labour mobility highlights the need for timely occupational-level mobility statistics. The article "Producing timely experimental estimates of interprovincial labour mobility" addresses this need by using linked census and administrative data to measure inter-provincial labour mobility at the four-digit National Occupational Classification 2021 level.

To generate timely indicators, this work produces predicted experimental mobility estimates by updating the 2021/2022 reference estimates from the linked census–administrative file with more current demographic information from the Labour Force Survey. The methodology outlined in this paper offers a practical approach for producing such predicted indicators on an ongoing basis and for tracking emerging mobility patterns across Canada's labour market.

Products

The September 2026 issue of Economic and Social Reports, Vol. 6, no. 9 (Catalogue number36280001), is now available. This issue contains the articles "Producing timely experimental estimates of interprovincial labour mobility," "Early career economic outcomes of childhood immigrant and Canadian-born journeypersons in Canada," "Understanding factors shaping household environmental practices and behaviours in Canada" and "Characteristics of home-based child cares serving children aged 0 to 5 years in Canada, 2024."

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).