Wildfires Reversing Canada’s Progress on Clean Air

Canada’s progress in improving air quality is being undone by increasingly intense wildfires, according to a new report from the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI).

The report revealed that 2023 marked Canada’s worst pollution levels since 1998, with more than half of Canadians breathing air that exceeded the national standard. Average exposure reached 9.2 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre — almost double the WHO’s safe guideline.

👉 If such levels continued for a lifetime, the average Canadian would lose two years of life expectancy.

Experts say that while Canada and the U.S. had made major strides in reducing fossil fuel emissions over the decades, wildfires have reintroduced dangerous levels of pollution.

“Air pollution is like the zombie we thought we killed, but it’s coming back to life,” said Michael Greenstone, co-author of the report.

Doctors warn the impact may be even worse than reported, as wildfire smoke poses greater health risks than industrial or vehicle pollution — increasing risks of asthma, cardiovascular disease, strokes, and COPD.

With 2025 already ranking as the second-worst wildfire year, health experts urge governments to take stronger action against climate change, while also highlighting the contradiction of subsidizing fossil fuels.

“We are subsidizing a sun-setting industry while our people suffer the health consequences,” said Dr. Courtney Howard, ER physician and chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.

The report calls air pollution “the greatest external threat to human well-being”, surpassing even malnutrition, alcohol, or tobacco.