Connecting the indicators

Each of the indicators in CESI 2006 focuses on separate issues and reflects different time periods and geographic scales. They are, however, connected in some fundamental ways:

• Many of the same social and economic forces drive the changes in the indicators.
• Some of the same substances impact all three indicators.
• The indicators reflect stresses in many of the same regions of the country.

Population size, distribution and density play a major role in determining the impacts that human activities have on the environment. Between 1990 and 2004, Canada’s population grew by 15%, from 27.7 million people to 32.0 million.

Consumption behaviours are also an important factor. For example, the current trend towards larger road vehicles has had a significant impact on the emission of air pollutants. Income and prices are two of the key drivers of these behaviours, but climate, geography, trends in housing size and density, and the adoption of technology also play important roles by affecting how much energy or water Canadians consume.

The structure of the economy and distribution of activities across the country are other factors which influence the trends in the indicators, both nationally and regionally. Each industry has different impacts in terms of water usage and pollutant emissions. Service industries (trade, transportation, travel and communications) make up 68% of Canada’s GDP, while goods-producing industries (manufacturing, construction and resource industries) account for the remainder.

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total value of goods and services produced in Canada corrected for inflation, increased by 47% from 1990 to 2004.  Over the same period, total primary energy consumption increased by only 26%, indicating a change in the structure of the economy towards service industries as well as improved energy efficiency.