You probably didn’t, but here’s one anyway: You’re contributing to the health of Canada’s economy.
If you like being outdoors, you’ll like this report.
The first of its kind (that we know of), The Outdoor Recreation Economy in Canada offers perspective-shifting insights on how Canadian outdoorists spend their time—and their money. Released by Protect Our Winters (POW) Canada, the report estimates the outdoor recreation sector’s contribution to the Canadian economy at a cool $101 billion annually. That’s a lot of lettuce—more than the forestry sector (estimated at $97 billion) and second only to the oil and gas sector (estimated at $139 billion).
POW arrived at this number by combining and analyzing more than 20 outdoor activities, including the usual suspects we often cover in the pages of Mountain Life (skiing, mountain biking) and others we generally don’t (snowmobiling, hunting). Throwing this wide net adds breadth to the report and avoids bias—a wise move in these polarized times and one that paints a more demographically comprehensive picture.
POW notes that the findings are probably a sizeable underestimation, due to gaps in Canada-specific data for the following activities: tent camping, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, skating, running, mountaineering, swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving, rowing and leisure cycling.
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But even with this underestimation, the report numbers illustrate the broad reach of the outdoor sector’s moving parts and how they mesh with the greater economy. Outdoor consumer spending packs a heavy punch whether on gear, clothing, devices, vehicles, services, transportation, lodging, food, guides, lessons or education. And the sector is no slouch when it comes to employment, generating more than a million direct full-time jobs annually.
The report numbers illustrate the broad reach of the outdoor sector’s moving parts and how they mesh with the greater economy.
Besides demographics and economic numbers, the report also posits outdoor recreation as “the economy of the future…built from thousands of small to large Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs.” The report suggests we can future-proof the Canadian economy by shifting away from natural resources and toward outdoor recreation (in particular, outdoor-based tourism), helping rural and Indigenous communities diversify their livelihoods, with fewer of the byproducts of the resource economy (e.g., pollution, environmental degradation).
While most of us understand that doing pretty much anything active outside is good for us, the report authors underline a factor that’s missing from their study: indirect contributions to the economy, such as the reduced burden on the healthcare system from those who are regularly active outside. The savings here are difficult to calculate accurately but certainly number in the billions.
Additionally, communities with extensive outdoor recreation infrastructure are more likely to attract new residents with faster-growing wages than comparable regions with limited infrastructure.
Anik Champoux, programs and marketing director at POW, explains how her organization can work with the government to help amplify these benefits: “At the end of the day sometimes the economic argument resonates. Government investment in the outdoor industry is currently comparatively lower than other sectors on a per-job and contribution to GDP basis…. We are asking the government to measure, monitor and invest in the economic and social benefits of outdoor recreation and support it at parity with other sectors.”
“The outdoor industry is the major economic driver in Collingwood and countless other rural communities across Canada,” adds POW executive director David Erb. “Shortening ski seasons, wildfires, flooding and other extreme weather events are major challenges facing these communities. At POW, we unite stakeholders including resorts, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, athletes and others to lobby for policy solutions to climate change.” –Ned Morgan
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