Canadians over 65 more worried about climate change than youth, StatCan says

Canadians are worried about climate change, with those over 65 among the most concerned, Statistics Canada said, as large swathes of the country are reeling from higher-than-normal temperatures.

The Canadian Social Survey is a quarterly national survey that collects information on a variety of social topics such as health, well-being, quality of life, confidence in institutions, activities, time-use and emergency preparedness.

For the first time, the survey included questions around climate change.

In 2025, more than half of Canadians (53 per cent) were “very” or “extremely” concerned about climate change and almost one-third (30 per cent) of Canadians felt stressed about climate change at least once a month, the survey said.

“Media and policy discussions on climate change often focus on youth, as this group is more likely than older demographics to face the long-term impacts of climate change,” Statistics Canada said

In 2025, however, it was Canadians aged 65 years and older that were more likely to report being highly concerned about climate change (59 per cent), compared to their younger counterparts (51 per cent among Canadians aged 15 to 24 years), the agency added.

Women (59 per cent) were more likely than men (48 per cent) to report feeling concern about climate change, while university graduates (60 per cent) were more concerned than those without a high school diploma (46 per cent).

Canadians worried about climate change are also more likely to take action to reduce their impact on the environment, with 65 per cent reducing food waste and 57 per cent reducing energy consumption.

The data comes as 2025 was confirmed to be one of the hottest years on record, despite the temporary cooling caused by La Niña.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said human-made climate change made the Canadian heat waves of 2025 two to 10 times more likely.

According to Environment Canada, millions of Canadians were under yellow and orange alerts for heat last week, with advisories listed across Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.

Labelled as the most common weather alert, the yellow alert is meant to symbolize “hazardous weather” that indicates that impacts are “moderate, localized and/or short-term,” but “may cause damage disruption, or health impacts.”