Green sectors outpace wider economy: StatsCan

There’s a long way to go in making the shift to a low-carbon economy, but the environmental sector is already growing at twice the rate of the overall economy, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

StatsCan reported that GDP generated by the environmental and clean technology products sector grew 3.5% in 2019, while the Canadian economy grew 1.6%.

The clean tech sector accounted for 3.0% of GDP with the value of the sector totalling $70.5 billion.

Over half of that total, 53.7%, came from goods, while the other 46.3% was generated by services.

Yet, StatsCan noted that it’s the services side driving the growth.

For instance, it reported that the scientific and research and development services industry grew by 9.9%, and construction services was up 5.7%.

The sector has also been a strong source of employment growth. StatsCan reported that an estimated 341,000 jobs were in the environmental and cleantech sector, up 4.6% in the year.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.