Canada's Performance 2003 - Highlights

Twenty societal indicators, by theme

Economic opportunities and innovation in Canada

• real gross domestic product per capita
• real disposable income per capita
• innovation
• employment
• literacy
• educational attainment

The health of Canadians

• life expectancy
• self-rated health status
• infant mortality
• healthy lifestyles*

The Canadian environment

• climate change
• air quality
• water quality
• biodiversity
• toxic substances in the environment

The strength and safety of Canadian communities

• volunteerism
• attitudes toward diversity
• cultural participation
• political participation
• safety and security

* This indicator has been broadened from last year's report to include body mass index as well as physical activity, which was the indicator last year.

This is a new indicator.

Trend

Indicator

Performance Highlights

Real Gross Domestic Product per Capita

Following the economic slowdown of 2001, growth in Canada rebounded strongly with real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth of 2.31% in 2002.

Real Disposable Income per Capita

After declining in the first half of the 1990s, real disposable income per capita has increased at an average rate of 2.0% per year since 1997, reflecting strong employment growth and cuts in personal taxes.

Innovation

A preliminary estimate of Canada's gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) as a percentage of GDP was 1.85% for 2002. While this represents a decrease from 1.91% in 2001, the GERD had been steadily increasing since 1996 when it was 1.65%.

Employment

The average employment rate increased from 58.5% in 1996 to 62.5% in 2002. There are substantial variations, however, in the unemployment rates of the provinces. The Atlantic provinces and Quebec continue to have substantially higher unemployment rates than the Canadian average.

Literacy

The data from the first International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), conducted in 1994, indicates that over 40.0% of Canadians aged 16 and above function below "Level 3," the minimum desirable level, which corresponds roughly to high school completion.

Educational Attainment

In the last decade, the proportion of Canadians with a college or university degree increased. In 2001, 61.0% of all Canadians aged 25 to 34 had at least some education beyond high school. This is a marked increase over a decade earlier when only 49.0% of people in that age category had any post-secondary education.

* This is due to either a lack of trend data or multiple measures with opposing trends.

Trend

Indicator

Performance Highlights

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy at birth has steadily increased from 77.6 years in 1990 to nearly 79.4 in 2000 (76.7 for men and 82.0 for women). Life expectancy at birth of First Nations on reserve also increased in the last decade. Recent data from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada indicate that a gap of approximately 6.1 years for men and 6.6 years for women remains, however.

Self-rated Health Status

The percentage of Canadians aged 12 and older who rated their own health as very good or excellent has decreased from 63.1% in 1994-95 to 62.1% in 2000-01. Furthermore, health status is not evenly distributed across Canada's communities. In 2000-01, 23.1% of Aboriginal people (living off reserves) rated their health as either fair or poor, a level 1.9 times higher than for the non-Aboriginal population.

Infant Mortality

In the last decade, the infant mortality rate has steadily decreased from 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 5.3 per 1,000 in 2000. Although declining, the infant mortality rate for First Nations on reserve continues to be higher than the Canadian rate at 8 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Healthy Lifestyles

Although the proportion of Canadians aged 12 and over who are active in their leisure time has grown from 39.4% in 1994-95 to about 42.6% in 2000-01, the proportion of Canadians who are considered obese has also increased. The number of obese Canadians aged 20 to 64 grew from 13.2% to 14.9%.

* This is due to either a lack of trend data or multiple measures with opposing trends.

Trend

Indicator

Performance Highlights

Climate Change

Despite a slight decrease (1.3%) between 2000 and 2001, Canadian greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 18.5% since 1990.

Air Quality

Levels of several air pollutants are dropping. From 1990 to 2000, decreases have been observed in the yearly average concentration of sulphur and nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and total suspended particulates in Canada. Levels of ground-level ozone, however, have not changed significantly.

Water Quality

Waste water treatment from municipal systems has shown continuous improvement. The percentage of the municipal population on sewers receiving secondary or tertiary treatment increased from 56.0% in 1983 to 78.0% in 1999. Despite these improvements, challenges remain in many rural and coastal communities.

Biodiversity

During the period from 1985 to 2002, the status of most reassessed species considered at risk remained unchanged, and the status of a quarter of the reassessed species deteriorated.

Toxic Substances in the Environment

Data allowing the consistent comparison of on-site releases between 1995 and 2000 are available for 15 toxic substances. Of these 15, on-site releases have decreased for 7, decreased ittle for 3, and increased for 5.

* This is due to either a lack of trend data or multiple measures with opposing trends.

Trend

Indicator

Performance Highlights

Volunteerism

In 2000, 27.0% of Canadians volunteered 1.05 billion hours of work in Canada, representing a decrease of 13.0% from 1997.

Attitudes Toward Diversity

A 2002 survey by Environics Research Group found that 80.0% of Canadians feel the preservation of the multicultural heritage of Canadians enhances the value of Canadian citizenship, while 77.0% feel that it also promotes the sharing of common values. Concerning linguistic duality, a 2003 survey found that 63.0 per cent of Canadians favour the development of bilingualism (English and French).

Participation in Cultural Activities

From 1992 to 1998, cultural participation among the Canadian population aged 15 and over was declining in some areas and was on the upswing in other areas. For instance, movie-going was up from 48.6% to 59.1% and concert and performance attendance rose from 23.7% in 1992 to 34.6% in 1998. However, attendance figures decreased at performances of live theatre (down 4.0%), popular music (down 4.1%), and symphonic music (down 4.0%).

Political Participation

Canadian political participation is in decline. Federal voter turnout rates have declined from 69.6% in 1993 to 61.2% in 2000, the lowest of any post-war election.

Safety and Security

The overall police-reported crime rate remained virtually unchanged in 2002 (-0.6%) The national crime rate, which has been on a downward trend for a decade, was 27.0 per cent below its peak in 1991.

Further, the proportion of the Canadian population that feels safe within their communities has increased. According to the 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS), 83.0% of Canadians indicated that they feel safe walking alone after dark in their neighbourhoods, up from 74.0% in 1996.

* This is due to either a lack of trend data or multiple measures with opposing trends.