Overall, domestic transport-related greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 15% over the last decade (2010 to 2019). Canada’s National Inventory Report 1990-2018 noted lower emissions for marine transportation, and higher emissions for aviation, rail and road transportation (see Figure). For the latest historical emissions estimates for Canada, including for transportation, please consult Canada’s official greenhouse gas inventory.
- Figure: Total transportation greenhouse gas emissions from all modes, 2000 to 2019
Total transportation greenhouse gas emissions from all modes, 2000 to 2019
Image description: Total transportation greenhouse gas emissions from all modes, 2000 to 2019
The chart shows the total metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the share of that total across 6 modes (aviation, rail, marine, on-road passenger, on-road freight and other) from the year 2000 to 2019. In 2019, aviation represented 8,59Mt of emissions, rail represented 7.77Mt of emissions, marine represented 4.5Mt of emissions, on-road passenger represented 90.90Mt of emissions and on-road freight represented 64.83Mt of emissions.
| Year | Domestic Aviation | Rail | Domestic Marine | On-Road Passenger | On-Road Freight | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.81 | 6.57 | 3.68 | 75.49 | 36.88 | 14.52 |
| 2001 | 7.17 | 6.51 | 3.77 | 78.38 | 39.34 | 11.47 |
| 2002 | 7.03 | 5.99 | 3.85 | 80.23 | 39.44 | 11.19 |
| 2003 | 7.15 | 6.05 | 3.92 | 81.48 | 42.09 | 11.03 |
| 2004 | 7.64 | 6.22 | 4.00 | 82.10 | 44.49 | 11.65 |
| 2005 | 7.74 | 6.63 | 4.08 | 83.49 | 48.07 | 10.02 |
| 2006 | 7.76 | 6.93 | 4.03 | 82.90 | 49.55 | 9.86 |
| 2007 | 7.84 | 7.43 | 3.99 | 83.12 | 52.19 | 10.08 |
| 2008 | 7.49 | 7.85 | 3.93 | 81.71 | 53.74 | 9.94 |
| 2009 | 6.67 | 6.72 | 3.88 | 82.14 | 52.20 | 9.74 |
| 2010 | 6.72 | 6.60 | 3.82 | 83.58 | 56.35 | 10.10 |
| 2011 | 6.63 | 7.45 | 3.79 | 82.77 | 59.27 | 8.43 |
| 2012 | 7.64 | 7.63 | 3.74 | 82.30 | 61.20 | 8.00 |
| 2013 | 7.92 | 7.35 | 3.68 | 83.87 | 62.85 | 8.15 |
| 2014 | 7.63 | 7.53 | 3.63 | 82.53 | 61.68 | 8.46 |
| 2015 | 7.63 | 7.18 | 3.57 | 84.73 | 60.37 | 8.71 |
| 2016 | 7.56 | 6.60 | 3.65 | 87.70 | 59.48 | 8.58 |
| 2017 | 7.98 | 7.55 | 3.79 | 88.31 | 62.14 | 9.07 |
| 2018 | 8.71 | 7.71 | 3.98 | 89.69 | 64.87 | 9.33 |
| 2019 | 8.59 | 7.77 | 4.50 | 90.90 | 64.83 | 9.19 |
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Inventory Report
Note: Emissions expressed in megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e)
Air Sector
In 2019, domestic aviation emitted 8.6 megatonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide). This accounts for 4.6% of Canada’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. While emissions from air travel have increased since 2005 due to increased air traffic, reports note a steady improvement in air carrier emission intensity performance. Of note, a 1.77% average annual improvement or overall improvement of 17.8% from 2008 to 2019.
Between 2018 and 2019 Canadian air carriers saw a slight drop in fuel efficiency by 0.6%, due to grounding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and a drop in reported cargo revenue-tonne-kilometers.
Marine sector
In 2019, the domestic marine sector emitted 4.5 megatonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide). This is 2.4% of Canada’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2005 and 2019, domestic marine greenhouse gas emissions increased by 9.8%
In 2021, the National Aerial Surveillance Program flew a total of 3,765 hours of surveillance over Canada’s three coasts, including 304 hours monitoring the North Atlantic right whale. During these patrols, they detected 673 pollution incidents and saw around 17,319 litres of oil observed in the marine environment.
Regular aerial surveillance has had a major impact on the drop of oil discharges from commercial vessels at sea. Ships are more and more aware their illegal polluting activities can be detected.
Rail sector
In 2021, the rail sector emitted 7. 8 megatonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide). This is 4.2% of domestic transportation related greenhouse gas emissions. Freight operations accounted for 98% of rail greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the latest annual Locomotive Emissions Monitoring Report, published in 2021, the total greenhouse gas emissions from rail operations (expressed as CO2e, or carbon dioxide) in Canada increased by 0.8% between 2018 and 2019.
This growth mostly reflects an increase in both freight and passenger traffic. Overall, the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions dropped slightly between 2018 and 2019. While Class 1 freight emissions increased by 0.3%, the intensity of intercity passenger emissions decreased by 8.37%, and the intensity of regional and shortline greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 1.72%.
Road sector
In 2019, the road transportation sector emitted 156 megatonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide), or 84% of Canada’s transportation related greenhouse gas emissions, and 21% of all Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.
From 2005 to 2019, greenhouse gas emissions from road transportation grew by 18%. Despite fuel efficiency across all vehicle classes, this increase stems from:
- a growth in passenger and freight activity, and
- a shift towards more greenhouse gas-intensive transportation, including heavy duty trucks and larger passenger vehicles (like SUVs and light trucks)
Greenhouse gas emissions from on-road freight vehicles increased by 34.9% between 2005 and 2019, from 48 to 65 megatonnes. Over the same period, road freight activity, measured in tonne-kilometres, also increased by around 35%.
Greenhouse gas emissions from on-road passenger vehicles increased by 8.9% between 2005 and 2019, from 84 to 91 megatonnes. Over the same period, road passenger activity measured in vehicle passenger-kilometres increased by about 17%.
Federal regulations have set progressively stricter greenhouse gas emission standards for both new passenger automobiles and light trucks of model years 2017 to 2026, and new heavy-duty vehicles and engines of model years 2021 to 2027. This builds on existing standards covering earlier model years.