Small Canadian cities rank high on environmental scorecard that has a few surprises
A new environmental scorecard says Canada's biggest cities have lower scores than most small and medium-sized municipalities, but a closer look at the data reveals some surprises.
The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environment International, rates 30 of the country's largest cities and towns on nine indicators related to health, including air quality, heat and cold waves, ultraviolet radiation, and access to green spaces. The results are compiled in the new Canadian Environmental Quality Index, produced by Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Daniel Rainham, the study's senior author and a professor in Dalhousie's faculty of health, says Canada's largest cities -- Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton -- posted relatively low scores, but he says some of their neighbourhoods scored on the high end, especially in Toronto.
"It's not an easy story to tell," Rainham said in an interview. "Even though the average values may tell you one thing, there's a lot of variability within those cities."
As an example, he noted that Toronto has some of the unhealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada, though he said the city ranked highest among the biggest cities as a whole. That variability is worthy of more study, Rainham said.
Medium-sized cities scored the highest, including Victoria, Sherbrooke, Que., and the Ontario cities of London, Guelph, Barrie, Kitchener and Kingston. As well, Halifax, Regina and Moncton, N.B., made the top 10.
Again, all of these smaller cities' results come with a caveat: "Even though they may be high on the list, they may have neighbourhoods that are not doing as well," Rainham said. "At a city level, all have some extremes."
At the other end of the scale, one small city -- Kelowna, B.C. -- received a lower score than all of the big cities, except Edmonton and Calgary. But some of Kelowna's neighbourhoods rated at the very top of the scale.
"You wouldn't really think that Kelowna, being nested in the beautiful fruit-and-berry valleys and wineries, would have a low score, but we're really talking about urban Kelowna," Rainham said. "But it also has one of the highest neighbourhood values as well."
The study focused on towns and cities with populations near or over 100,000.
In the middle of the pack in descending order are Winnipeg, St. John's, Hamilton, Ottawa and the Ontario cities of Windsor, St. Catharines and Oshawa.
Aside from Canada's five largest cities, the bottom of the list in descending order includes the Quebec communities of Gatineau, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres and Chicoutimi, as well as Milton, Ont., Abbotsford, B.C., Saskatoon and Kelowna in 28th place. Calgary and Edmonton are in the basement.
The study also took into account the amount of green vegetation in each neighbourhood. That's important because studies show a link between good health and being close to nature. The same correlation is true for those who live close to the water, another factor measured in the study.
Researchers also measured the proximity of residents to fuel-fired power plants, and the length of roads in each neighbourhood. But there is nothing about noise or water quality because Canada does a poor job of collecting such data.
Rainham said the long-term goal is to make all of the data available to the public by allowing residents to look at an electronic map and zoom in to their neighbourhoods.
The study was paid for by the Public Health Agency of Canada. It was co-written by Zoe Davis, at the University of Melbourne's School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, in southern Australia, and Margaret de Groh, who works with Canada's public health agency.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.