Clean Technology Data Strategy

On this page

• Overview
• Canada's Clean Technology Economy
• Understanding Canada's Clean Technology Industry
• Data releases
• About us
• Contact us

Overview

Canada's clean technology sector drives economic growth, creates high-quality jobs, attracts investment, and expands Canada's presence in global markets. As demand for clean technologies grows worldwide, Canadian firms are developing and exporting solutions that support the transition to a competitive and more sustainable economy.

The Clean Technology Data Strategy (CTDS) provides trusted data and analysis to measure the economic, environmental and social contributions of Canada's environmental and clean technology sector. Drawing on data and information from Statistics Canada (StatCan), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the CTDS helps governments, businesses, researchers and Canadians better understand the sector's performance and its role in Canada's economy.

Through a suite of interactive dashboards and data products, the CTDS tracks key indicators including economic output, international trade, employment, workforce characteristics, business investment, industry insights, and federal support for clean technology.

Measuring Canada's Clean Technology Economy

Understanding Canada's Clean Technology Industry

Cleantech goods and services

Cleantech goods and services are offered by a broad range of Canadian companies and span all sectors of the economy. Tracking these activities is essential to understand Canada's contribution to clean growth and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Government of Canada defines clean technology as:

• Any good or service designed with the primary purpose of contributing to remediating or preventing any type of environmental damage.
• Any good or service that is less polluting or more resource efficient than equivalent normal products that furnish a similar utility.

The following taxonomy represents the suite of products that are considered to be clean technologies by the Government of Canada:

Data releases

The CTDS consists of the following data products published by Statistics Canada:

• The Environmental and Clean Technology Products Economic Account (ECTPEA) provides information on the economic impact of cleantech and environmental products by measuring its share of gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. Other economic variables, such as exports, imports and output, are also measured.
• The Survey of Environmental Goods and Services (SEGS) collects data on sales and exports of environmental and cleantech goods and services in order to estimate their production nationally and by province or territory. Data are also collected to produce estimates of employment associated with the production of environmental and cleantech goods and services.
• The Environmental Protection Expenditures Survey (EPES) collects data from companies to provide national and regional estimates of capital and operating expenditures on environmental protection and resource management activities, as well as drivers and obstacles for their purchase. Information from this survey serves as an important indicator of Canadian investment in environmental protection.
• The Natural Resources Satellite Account (NRSA) provides the same economic variables as ECTPEA, but for the natural resources sectors, including energy, mining and forestry.
• The Human Resource Module (HRM) for the NRSA and ECTPEA provides broader insight into the sectors' role in the economy by providing more detailed human resource information (e.g., gender, age, education, immigration status, Indigenous identity, wages and occupation types)..

Latest releases

• The Daily — Natural Resources Satellite Account: Human Resource Module, 2023
• The Daily — Natural resource indicators, first quarter 2025
• The Daily — Environmental and Clean Technology Products Economic Account, 2023
• The Daily — International trade in environmental and clean technology products by origin and destination, 2023
• The Daily — Environmental and Clean Technology Products Economic Account: Human Resource Module, 2023
• The Daily — Capital expenditures on environmental protection by businesses, 2019 to 2021
• The Daily — Environmental protection expenditures by businesses, 2022
• The Daily — Business research and development expenditures in environmental and clean technology products, 2020 and 2021
• The Daily — Annual Survey of Environmental Goods and Services, 2023
• Clean technologies and the Survey of Environmental Goods and Services: A technical reference guide (Catalogue number 16-511-X)

About us

Clean Technology Data Strategy

Cleantech activity in Canada contributes to clean growth and the transition to a low-carbon economy. It provides environmental solutions to such issues as climate change, air and water pollution, and resource scarcity. Clean technologies also contribute to economic growth and diversification by increasing access to international markets and creating well-paying jobs for Canadians.

The economic and environmental impacts of clean technologies in Canada can be difficult to measure, as cleantech activity cuts across all major economic sectors. The CTDS aims to ensure that data is readily available to understand the economic and environmental contribution of cleantech in Canada.

Established in 2017, the CTDS is a joint initiative, led by Natural Resources Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, that supports the collection of data and regular reporting on cleantech activity. Better data strengthens the evidence base for decisions, improves understanding of the emerging cleantech landscape and ensures the creation of impactful policies and programs to support the production and adoption of clean technologies.

Components of the CTDS

There are three main components in the Strategy and ongoing engagement with key partners:

Contact us

To submit questions on data provided by the CTDS or provide feedback on this website, please reach out to us using the following contact form.