Even as the hue of much of the Canadian landscape is currently shifting towards spicy autumnal palettes (or even snowy whites), it’s hard to deny that we are lucky to live amongst the trees, mountains and green spaces of this land. But just which parts of Canada are the greenest?
A new study by the real estate site Calgary.com rounds up the “greenest” cities in Canada, based on parkland data for Canadian cities. Cities were scored based on factors like how much parkland, green area and gardens they have.
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Interestingly, while you may expect the greenest cities in Canada to be smaller or less populated ones, the top five includes some of the land’s largest cities (including Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, which is Canada’s largest city based on population).
With that said, let’s look at which cities got top marks.
Canada’s 10 greenest cities
1. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 28.1
% of city land as parkland: 20
Number of community gardens: 2
Green Score (out of 100): 100
2. Edmonton, Alberta
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 6.2
% of city land as parkland: 8
Number of community gardens: 104
Green Score (out of 100): 80.26
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3. Gatineau, Quebec
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 17.2
% of city land as parkland: 15
Number of community gardens: 20
Green Score (out of 100): 76.98
4. Toronto, Ontario
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 2.7
% of city land as parkland: 13
Number of community gardens: 79
Green Score (out of 100): 74.57
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5. Calgary, Alberta
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 7
% of city land as parkland: 11
Number of community gardens: 59
Green Score (out of 100): 67.67
6. Guelph, Ontario
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 10.4
% of city land as parkland: 16
Number of community gardens: 17
Green Score (out of 100): 66.04
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7. Thunder Bay, Ontario
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 19.2
% of city land as parkland: 6
Number of community gardens: 10
Green score (out of 100): 53.46
8. Waterloo, Ontario
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 6.9
% of city land as parkland: 15
Number of community gardens: 6
Green Score (out of 100): 52.16
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9. Vancouver, British Columbia
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 2.1
% of city land as parkland: 12
Number of community gardens: 36
Green Score (out of 100): 51.51
10. Kitchener, Ontario
Hectares of park for 1,000 people: 7.3
% of city land as parkland: 12
Number of community gardens: 14
Green Score (out of 100): 49.25
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So, what sets these cities apart from others? In the case of the greenest city on the list, Prince Albert, Sask., a few factors came into play. Notably, the nature-rich city (Prince Albert is located between aspen parkland and a boreal forest) boasts 20 per cent of city land as parkland, as well as 28.1 hectares of park for every 1,000 people — equating to a perfect Green Score on the ranking. (Note: the Green Score was calculated by combining all three factors, which accounts for Prince Albert’s perfect 100 score.)
Conversely, while the number-two city on the list, Edmonton, doesn’t have nearly as much park land (just 8 per cent of the city land is parkland), it takes top marks for having the most community gardens on the list by far (Edmonton has 104 community gardens, compared to Prince Albert’s 2).
The third-, fourth- and fifth-place cities (Gatineau, Toronto and Calgary, respectively) garnered high Green Scores by offering a mix of green features. Gatineau scored well in all three areas with 17.2 hectares of park per 1,000 people, 15 per cent of city lands as parkland and 20 community gardens. Toronto offers much less park per 1,000 people (just 2.7 hectares), but still has 13 per cent of city land as park land and plenty of community gardens (79). Calgary, which took the fifth spot, similarly offers a balance of green factors with 7 hectares of park per 1,000 people, 11 per cent of city land as parkland and 59 community gardens.
“It’s great to see that even some of Canada’s largest and most populated cities still maintain lots of parklands to keep the area greener, especially in the case of Toronto. Using percentages as a representation of green space also highlights the efforts smaller cities are doing to keep nature at no more than a stone’s throw away from residents,” a spokesperson from Calgary.com said of the findings.
