Outdoor recreation in Canada - statistics & facts

Canada offers outdoor recreational activities all year round. With a variety of landscapes and climates, activities can range from skiing and snowboarding to hiking and kayaking. In a 2022 survey, where Canadians were asked what hobbies and activities they participated in, outdoor activities ranked highly. One such activity is camping. While camping is an activity that often requires less in-person contact than other types of outdoor recreation, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic still caused a decline in the market size of the campgrounds and RV parks sector in Canada. Additionally, another activity badly impacted by the health crisis was skiing and snowboarding, with the market size of the Canadian ski and snowboard resorts industry dropping to 0.95 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Despite this decline, the industry was forecast to exceed its pre-pandemic size by 2022.

Recreational winter sports in Canada

Canada is home to three mountain ranges, the Rocky Mountains, the St. Elias Mountains, and the Laurentian Mountains. Located in the area of the Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise in Alberta is one of the largest ski resorts in North America, and during the 2021/2022 winter season it was the most popular ski resort in Canada by number of Google searches. Meanwhile, Whistler ski resort in British Columbia was the leading ski resort in Canada by index score as of September 2022. Each resort’s index score was calculated by assigning points to categories such as vertical drop, snow quantity, acreage, and more. Skiing isn’t the only winter activity that Canadians participate in – ice hockey is also a common national pastime. As of 2021, the total number of ice hockey rinks in Canada reached almost eight thousand, of which five thousand were outdoor rinks and approximately three thousand were indoor rinks.

How popular are national parks in Canada?

Some of the top summer outdoor activities in Canada that adults participated in in the third quarter of 2021 were hiking, camping, and visiting national parks. That year, 3.64 million people visited Banff National Park in Alberta, making it the most visited national park in Canada. Ranking second on the list was Jasper National Park, also in Alberta, which is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. In 2021, Jasper National Park welcomed around 2.1 million visitors. Meanwhile, between April 2020 and March 2021, the total number of visitors to national parks and historic sites in Canada (managed by Parks Canada) reached almost 17 million, down from the previous year’s figure of approximately 25 million, likely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Sports and outdoor e-commerce revenue in Canada
2.23bn USD
Most popular outdoor activity among environmentally-satisfied adults in Canada
Hiking and backpacking
Share of adults engaging in outdoor recreational activities once a week or less in Canada
52%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Most popular domestic outdoor activities in Canada as of 3rd quarter 2022 (in million participants)

Hobbies

Most popular domestic outdoor activities in Canada Q3 2022

Share of adults engaging in outdoor recreational activities in Canada in 2021, by frequency

Parks & Outdoors

Share of Canadians engaging in outdoor recreational activities 2021, by frequency

Share of campers in Canada as of June 2022, by destination

Land-based Activities

Share of campers in Canada 2022, by destination

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Industry overview

Winter activities

6

Winter activities

Camping and hiking

6

Camping and hiking

Nature parks

7

Nature parks

Fishing and hunting

5

Fishing and hunting

Participation

6

Participation

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Travel and tourism in Canada
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Recreational boating in the United Kingdom
Recreational boating in the United Kingdom
Outdoor recreation market in the United Kingdom (UK)
Outdoor recreation market in the United Kingdom (UK)
Sport in Canada
Sport in Canada
Hockey in Canada
Hockey in Canada

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