The Weekly Review, October 13 to 17, 2025

The lowest levels of physical activity are seen among youth, especially among females

In the period from 2022 to 2024, close to half of adults (46%), over 9 in 10 preschoolers aged 3 to 4 years (91%), and over half of children aged 5 to 11 years (52%) met recommended physical activity levels. Meanwhile, youth aged 12 to 17 years (21%) were less likely than other age groups to adhere to physical activity recommendations. While few changes were observed among preschoolers and children between the period from 2018 to 2019 and from 2022 to 2024, the percentage of youth meeting the physical activity recommendation fell from 50% to 33% among males and from 21% to 8% among females.

Source: Directly measured physical activity and sedentary time in Canada: New results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2022 to 2024

Ontario and Alberta lead declines in residential construction intentions in August

In August, the total value of building permits issued in Canada was down $139.2 million (-1.2%) to $11.6 billion. Notable declines recorded in Ontario (-$563.3 million) and Alberta (-$461.5 million) were tempered by increases in British Columbia (+$612.2 million) and Quebec (+$294.2 million). Residential construction intentions decreased $173.8 million (-2.4%) to $7.0 billion in August. The decline was primarily attributable to Ontario (-$432.8 million) and Alberta (-$311.1 million).

Source: Building permits, August 2025

Transportation equipment subsector leads the decline in manufacturing sales in August

Total manufacturing sales fell 1.0% to $69.4 billion in August, on lower sales in 12 of the 21 subsectors, led by the transportation equipment (-5.7%) and food (-1.9%) subsectors. Following a 7.7% increase in July, sales of transportation equipment declined 5.7% to $10.7 billion in August. This decrease was primarily driven by lower production of aerospace products and parts (-8.6%), as well as reduced sales of motor vehicle parts (-5.2%) and motor vehicles (-3.3%).

Source: Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, August 2025

Missing teeth associated with higher hospitalization risk among Canadian adults

Oral health is an important component of overall health, yet its relationship with general health outcomes is not fully understood. A new study investigates whether tooth loss is associated with increased risks of mortality and hospitalization. The study showed that, among adults aged 20 to 79 years, participants with five or more missing teeth had a 76% higher risk of all-cause hospitalization and a 120% higher risk of hospitalization for circulatory system diseases compared with those with no missing teeth, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status and diabetes.

Source: Health Reports, October 2025

Poverty rates highest among the gender diverse population

While poverty rates were generally lower in 2020 than in previous years, poverty rates were higher for gender diverse individuals than for cisgender people, and these disparities persisted after accounting for the younger age of the gender diverse population. Among the population aged 18 and older in the provinces and territories, age-standardized poverty rates were highest for non-binary people (17.8%), followed by transgender women (11.1%) and transgender men (10.5%). In contrast, cisgender men (7.0%) and cisgender women (7.0%) were least likely to live in poverty.

Source: Study: Socioeconomic outcomes of transgender and non-binary people in Canada

The household harvest

It’s October, which means most of us with gardens have harvested much of what was in them. About three in five Canadian households (59%) grew fruit, herbs, vegetables or flowers for personal use in the past 12 months when surveyed in 2023, slightly down from 2021 (61%) but up from 2011 (56%). Among the provinces, the highest proportion of indoor growers was one-third (33%) of households in Newfoundland and Labrador, while the lowest proportion was in Quebec (18%).

Source: The backyard harvest