Canada’s greenest cities and towns

Canada is filled with all kinds of beautiful landscapes. Although much of the greenery is covered up by a layer of snow and will be for the next few months, snow-covered scenery can be equally breathtaking.

While we may not see as much green, a lot of vegetation stays alive during the winter months or will come back promptly as soon as spring rolls around.

Vegetation contributes to more livable, beautiful communities by helping to clean the air, moderate the local climate, control water flow and provide habitats for wildlife—including mammals, insects and birds.

Vegetated areas are an important element of infrastructure in urban population centres. “Urban greenness” is a measure that assesses the condition and health of vegetation in an urban landscape.

More than two-thirds (70.3%) of the land area of Canada’s large urban population centres was classed as green in the summer of 2024, up from 68.1% in the summer of 2023.

What cities and towns in Canada are the greenest?

Based on satellite imagery analysis, the large urban population centres that were the greenest in the summer of 2024 were Kanata, Ontario (96.6%); St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (95.5%); Saint-Jérôme, Quebec (94.7%); Gatineau, Quebec (94.2%); and Sherbrooke, Quebec (92.0%).

Year over year, urban greenness rose in four of the five largest cities in the Prairie provinces in the summer of 2024, with Saskatoon (+22.1 percentage points to 46.0%) showing the largest increase. In contrast, Edmonton’s urban greenness score dropped 9.6 percentage points to 44.2%.

To keep reading about urban greenness in cities and towns across Canada, including year-over-year changes in other large cities, check out the “Census of Environment: Urban greenness, 2024,” release.

Do you have a park or green space close to home?

In Canada, many of us have easy access to a park or green space. In fact, in 2021, 91% of households in Canada had a park or green space that was close to home.

Among households in census metropolitan areas, 93% had a park or green space close to home in 2021.

No matter the season, enjoying time in a local park or green space (even if it’s snow-covered) is a great way to get some fresh air or exercise. In 2021, nearly 8 in 10 households in Canada (78%) reported participating in outdoor activities close to home, up from 77% in 2019 and 75% in 2011.

To learn more about what Canadians did outdoors close to home in 2021, check out the Households and the Environment Survey results.