Canada’s environment industry is characterized by growth, diversity and on-going developments within the fields of science and technology.
In order to help define this dynamic sector, ECO Canada has identified three core areas of specialization:
1) Environmental Protection
2) Conservation and Preservation of Natural Resources
3) Environmental Sustainability
Within these categories of the environmental sector there are a broad spectrum of employment opportunities including (but not limited to) Air Quality, Water Quality, Waste Management, Fisheries and Wildlife, Mining, Energy, Research and Development, and Communication and Public Awareness.
Canada’s Environment Industry Sub-sector Model
The scope of the environment industry is very broad with environmental employment spanning all major industries in Canada. There are over 682,000 environmental employees in Canada who spend 50% or more of their time on environmental activities.
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Over 2,000,000 workers spend some of their time on environmental activities.
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Over 318,000 organizations in Canada employ at least one environmental employee (approximately 17% of Canadian organizations have one or more environmental employees)
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Industries with the highest concentrations of environmental employees include:
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (11%)
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Construction (8%)
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Administration & support, waste management, and remediation (6%)
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Professional, scientific, and technical services (5%)
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91% of environmental employers have workers in more than one occupational skill category, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of work in the environmental sector.
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The most common occupational skill categories of workers in the environmental sector are:
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Environmental health and safety (40% of environmental employees)
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Waste management (28%)
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Site assessment, remediation, and reclamation (20%)
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Environmental communication and public awareness (19%)
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Environmental education and training (18%)
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Water quality (17%)
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Environmental policy and legislation (15%)
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Energy (including alternative / renewable energy or eco-efficiency) (10%)
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Environmental practitioners work in very diverse areas as well as throughout all regions of Canada. However, the distribution of these workers varies. Ontario (37%) has the highest share of environmental employees, followed by Quebec (23%). Alberta and British Columbia have similar numbers of environmental employees, representing 12% and 14% of environmental employment respectively.
Globally, there continues to be a growing demand for clean technologies and green energy (biomass, solar, wind, water, and methane recovery). As a result, Canada will continue to participate nationally and internationally to meet increasing demands for leading-edge environmental technologies.
With a growing interest in studying and protecting Canada’s natural environment and climate, the current environmental services industry in our country creates an estimated $29 billion in employment and business annually.
Source: Statistics Canada, Cat. No. 16F0008XIE, 2004
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