Canadian businesses sharply increased their environmental spending in 2023, with new federal data showing billions flowing into clean energy and pollution control — even as industry and regional gaps persist.
Figures released by Statistics Canada in late January 2026 show companies spent $32.2 billion on environmental activities in 2023, a 17.4% jump from 2022. The data are drawn the 2023 Environmental Protection Expenditures Survey, conducted with around 6,000 establishments in selected primary industries.
The majority of that spending — 63.1% — went toward resource management, including clean energy production, biomaterials, and energy efficiency. The remaining 36.9% targeted environmental protection measures such as waste, wastewater, and air pollution management, according to the Statistics Canada survey.
Energy production accounted for the largest share of spending, led by nuclear power at $8.3 billion, or just over a quarter of total environmental expenditures. Renewable energy followed closely at $8 billion.
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Among environmental protection activities, the survey found that wastewater management came in first at $3.6 billion, followed by solid waste ($2.6 billion) and air pollution management ($2.3 billion), reinforcing their position as core areas of environmental investment.
The oil and gas extraction sector remained the largest spender on environmental protection in the survey, accounting for $4 billion, or roughly one-third of all such expenditures. Much of that funding — 35.3% — was directed toward wastewater management.
Mining and quarrying ranked second, contributing $1.3 billion, or just over 10% of environmental protection spending.
More than half of all environmental spending in 2023 (55.9%) went toward operational costs, while 44.1% was tied to capital investments.
Businesses invested $14.2 billion in environmental capital assets, representing 4% of all non-residential tangible capital expenditures nationwide, according to the survey.
Spending was heavily concentrated in Western Canada, with Alberta businesses accounting for 38.9% of environmental protection expenditures, nearly double Ontario’s 19.5% share. Wastewater management made up the largest portion of Alberta’s spending.
By contrast, resource management investments were highest in Ontario, which accounted for 43.8% of such spending, followed by British Columbia at 32.3%, driven largely by clean energy projects.
When asked what prompted environmental investments, surveyed businesses most often pointed to internal corporate policies (10.4%), followed closely by return on investment (9.9%) and regulatory requirements (9.9%).
The data suggest that while regulatory pressure remains important, financial and corporate considerations are nearly as influential in shaping environmental decision-making.
