Our way of life entails unsustainable consumption of the planet’s resources and Canadians have what can only be described as an “outsized” ecological footprint, a new scientific study published on Earth Day has found.
The study, led by researchers at York University and the University of Iceland, concludes that “our civilization uses natural resources at a rate equivalent to 1.7 Earths per year, placing us in a 70 per cent ecological deficit.” The “ecological footprint” calculated by the researchers is a measure used to estimate the land and sea area needed, on an annual basis, to meet our consumption needs — particularly for food — and to manage the waste generated by our way of life.
On that score, Eric Miller, a professor of ecological economics and sustainability informatics at York University and director of the Ecological Footprint Initiative, says Canadians generate an “outsized ecological footprint,” one that is therefore unsustainable if the planet is to have a viable future. “There is no other way to put it: Canada’s ecological footprint limits the chances of people elsewhere in the world to enjoy a good quality of life,” Miller said.
Exports’ footprint
According to the scientists’ findings, published Wednesday, Canada ranks eighth in the world for per capita consumption. In 2025, each Canadian used an average of 6.6 global hectares, about four times the sustainable level of the planet’s ecosystem capacity and double that of countries such as China and the United Kingdom.
Part of the problem in Canada stems from the ecological footprint of our exports, particularily food and forestry products, Miller notes. According to his calculations, every dollar of Canadian exports required twice as many natural resources as every dollar of imports. Sixty per cent of Canada’s domestic footprint was exported for consumption in other countries.
If Canadians have a way of life and an economy that are harmful to the planet, they are not alone. The university study therefore stresses the need for humanity as a whole to reduce its ecological footprint. “For the world to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, humanity must reduce its overall ecological footprint by at least 59 per cent over the next 25 years,” he said.
Québecers’ footprint
Moreover, our “linear” economic model, based on overconsumption of resources, breaches planetary environmental boundaries, according to a document published in 2024 by RECYC-QUÉBEC that called for the implementation of a range of principles to reduce our material footprint.
Released by the Quebec government corporation and produced in collaboration with the international organization Circle Economy, the study emphasizes the unsustainable nature of Québec’s economy. “Even though the Canadian province is known for its vast forests and almost entirely renewable electricity generation, consumption of water and other resources is exceptionally high, and cycling remains relatively limited,” it says.
Overall, Québec is responsible for “a significant material footprint” of 271 million tonnes of resources per year, or 32 tonnes per capita, “which is well above the global average.”
According to the study, that reality stems from the fact that “the province has a relatively low level of circularity,” since barely 3.5 per cent of the economy is considered circular — that is, linked to a production-and-consumption system aimed at optimizing the use of resources at every stage in the life cycle of a good or service.