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Physical Activity in Canada

people standing smiling in front of pool

Adult physical activity levels

  • 49% of adults (18+ years)

    in Canada are meeting national physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week.1

  • 56% of adults (18 to 79 years)

    living in Canada get at least 3 hours per day of light physical activity.*

  • 49% of adults (18 to 79 years)

    living in Canada take at least 7,500 steps per day.
    53% of men take at least 7,500 steps per day, compared to 46% of women.1

  • 9.6 hours/day

    Adults in Canada are sedentary for 9.6 hours per day, excluding sleep time2.

Children and youth physical activity levels

  • 28% of kids and teens (5-17 years)

    are meeting national physical guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.3

  • 62% of young children (3-4 years)

    are meeting national physical activity guidelines.4

  • 7% of  youth (10-19 years)

    had a decrease in their levels of physical activity.5

  • Boys (52%), Girls (26%)

    Boys (52%) are twice as likely as girls (26%) to meet physical activity guidelines.4

  • 8.4 hours/day

    Children and youth in Canada spend approximately 8.4 hours of their day being sedentary.9

mom and dad hiking with kids up a hill
mom and dad hiking with kids up a hill

Children and youth physical activity levels

  • 28% of kids and teens (5-17 years)

    are meeting national physical guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.3

  • 62% of young children (3-4 years)

    are meeting national physical activity guidelines.4

  • 7% of  youth (10-19 years)

    had a decrease in their levels of physical activity.5

  • Boys (52%), Girls (26%)

    Boys (52%) are twice as likely as girls (26%) to meet physical activity guidelines.4

  • 8.4 hours/day

    Children and youth in Canada spend approximately 8.4 hours of their day being sedentary.

The impacts of physical activity6

Physical activity impacts Canada’s economy, it’s social and environmental well-being as well as health care costs. It even impacts our individual and community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Impacts include:

Health

Cost of inactivity – $3.9 billion annually
  • The direct and indirect health care costs associated with physical inactivity in Canada have been estimated at $3.9 billion, annually.

Potential savings – $629 million annually

  • Getting just 10% of people living in Canada to move more could result in an annual savings of $629 million in health care costs from chronic conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
wooden blocks with health symbols like heart, cross, pill etc
wooden blocks with health symbols like heart, cross, pill etc

Health

Cost of inactivity – $3.9 billion annually
  • The direct and indirect health care costs associated with physical inactivity in Canada have been estimated at $3.9 billion, annually.

Potential savings – $629 million annually

  • Getting just 10% of people living in Canada to move more could result in an annual savings of $629 million in health care costs from chronic conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
wheel chair basketball team high fiving eachother

Social

Mental health and social connectivity
  • 61% of people living in Canada agree that sport, physical activity and recreation contributes to a reduction in feeling alone.
  • 76% of people living in Canada feel welcomed and included through physical activity, sport, and recreation activities.

Resilience and life skill development

  • 69% of people living in Canada agreed that physical activity, sport, and recreation contributes to reductions in harmful behaviours such as suicide ideation.
  • Regular participation in physical activity has also been attributed to a 6% to 10% increase in earnings.7

Economic

Value of sport, physical activity and recreation
  • $37.2 billion is the economic value of sport, physical activity and recreation in Canada.

Government investments

  • $2 billion was invested by Canadian governments in physical activity, sport and recreation infrastructure in 2022.

Jobs

  • 260,000 jobs in 2022 were provided by the physical activity, sport and recreation sector.
woman running under tall buildings
woman running under tall buildings

Economic

Value of sport, physical activity and recreation
  • $37.2 billion is the economic value of sport, physical activity and recreation in Canada.

Government investments

  • $2 billion was invested by Canadian governments in physical activity, sport and recreation infrastructure in 2022.

Jobs

  • 260,000 jobs in 2022 were provided by the physical activity, sport and recreation sector.
man with suit on riding a bike in park path

Environmental

Accessibility
  • 78% of people living in Canada have a public transportation system available in their community.

Active transportation and cost savings

  • $564 million could be saved annually in reduced greenhouse gas emissions if just 1% of people living in Canada switched from private car use to active transportation.
  • Public transit typically involves some active/physical transportation to and from stops or stations. Public transit use could save households roughly $10,000 per year, and by increasing activity levels, could potentially contribute to reducing public health and health care costs, more generally.

Physical activity on a global scale8

a shot of earth from space

A leading risk factor for mortality

  • Insufficient physical activity stands as the 4th leading risk factor for premature death and mortality, underscoring the critical need for lifestyle changes.
  • Approximately 3.2 million deaths and 32.1 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)±, representing about 2.1% of global DALYs, are attributed annually to insufficient physical activity, highlighting its significant impact on global health.

Adult and adolescent inactivity

  • 25% of adults and a staggering 81% of adolescents do not engage in enough physical activity. These current global estimates reveal a concerning reality.

cars bumper to bumper on a six lane highway

Inactivity and economic development

  • 70% increase in levels of physical inactivity can be seen when a country undergoes economic development. This increase is influenced by changing transport patterns, heightened technology use for work and recreation, evolving cultural values, and a rise in sedentary behaviours.

Explore the benefits of physical activity.

General references

References
  • *. Light physical activity is defined as activity that is performed between 1.5 and 3 metabolic equivalents (METs), such as walking at a slow pace, standing work or light housework such as washing dishes.
  • ± DALYs for a disease or health condition are the sum of the years of life lost to due to premature mortality (YLLs) and the years lived with a disability (YLDs) due to prevalent cases of the disease or health condition in a population.
  1. Statistics Canada. (2021). Canadian Health Measures Survey, Cycle 6 [2018 and 2019], custom tabulation. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/82-003-X201900800001
  2. Government of Canada (2017). Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep (PASS) Indicators. Retrieved from https://health-infobase.canada.ca/pass/data-tool?index=1036
  3. Roberts et al. (2019). Meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth. Retrieved from: https://WWW150.STATCAN.GC.CA/N1/EN/PUB/82-003-X/2017010/ARTICLE/54875-ENG.PDF?ST=XLX-FQD6
  4. Chaput et al. (2017). Proportion of preschool-aged children meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and associations with adiposity: results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. BMC Public Health,17(Suppl 5):829.
  5. Dumith et al. (2011). Physical activity change during adolescence: a systematic review and a pooled analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 40(3), 685–698. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/40/3/685/744518
  6. Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI) and Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA). 2023. The Price of Inactivity: Measuring the Powerful Impact of Sport, Physical Activity, and Recreation in Canada. CFLRI & CPRA. Ottawa, ON, Canada. Retrieved from https://measuring-impact.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CFLRI-CPRA_Price-Inactivity-Full-Report-EN-FINAL.pdf
  7. Tovar-García E.D. Participation in Sports, Physical Exercise, and Wage Income: Evidence from Russian Longitudinal Data. (2021). German Journal of Exercise & Sport Research, 51:333–343.
  8. World Health Organization. Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030: More active people for a healthier world. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272722/9789241514187-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  9. Statistics Canada. Canadian Health Measures Survey. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 2018-2019. Web.
    https://health-infobase.canada.ca/src/doc/pass_childrenyouth_en.pdf