Become a data volunteer for the 2023 NCL
We work with volunteers across the country to collect policies, quantitative data, and case studies tracking municipal action on climate, health, wellbeing and the environment. Our two volunteer training sessions are now complete, but it is not too late to participate! Sign up to receive more information about the NCL and to get involved.
Demystifying Data Webinar
Join us on November 23rd for an interactive learning session on demystifying data for the general public. In collaboration with guest facilitators from Open North, a non-profit working on data governance, you will learn the basics of how local governments use data in climate decision-making and planning, progress-tracking and communicating outcomes.
Access 5 years of NCL data all in one spot !
Introducing our new National Climate League dashboard. This dashboard showcases all the data the NCL has amassed since 2018 in an easy-to-navigate format.
Use this dashboard to identify top-performing municipalities; compare your municipality to others of similar size or located in the same province; identify temporal trends in a specific indicator category, and more.
the 2022 national climate league STANDINGS have arrived !
Our annual, volunteer-led data project tracks the performance of municipalities based on 26 climate, sustainability and social justice indicators.
Which municipalities are leading and which are falling behind on key indicators like public transit ridership, renewable energy, green space, housing affordability, and more? Find out more about the results and the stories behind this project that is all about inspiring action and sharing best practices. Together we can make our cities, towns and regions into healthy, green and safe places to live, work and play.
Together we can make our cities, towns and regions into healthy, green and safe places to live, work and play!!
NATIONAL LAUNCH
During a bilingual virtual kick-off event on April 13, 2023, we unveiled which municipalities are leading and which are lagging on key metrics like transit ridership, renewable energy, green spaces, housing affordability, and much more! 🏬 🚌🌳🚴
This event was also an opportunity to highlight the contribution of volunteers to this citizen lead project, with Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez.
Finally, we were delighted to welcome three speakers from the municipal sector for a round table to discuss political ambition, social justice and how municipalities can do more for the climate, health and well-being of all !
Pre-ORDER the NCL Standings 2022
Join us April 13 to celebrate the launch of the 2022 Standings
The event is an opportunity to share insights on participatory data collection featuring Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez, NCL volunteer, as well as key highlights from the 2022 Standings with Climate Reality Canada's National Campaign Manager, Hannah Muhajarine; and a panel discussion on municipal climate action with panelists from across the country.
CITY PROFILES
Our annual data collection project, led by volunteers, tracks the performance
of 57 municipalities based on 26 climate, sustainability and social justice indicators. Here is an overview of how some municipalities performed in this year's Standing.
City Profile: Fredericton
Overall, Fredericton did well in the air quality indicator, climate targets, and won the public green space indicator. It is also taking action on a significant number of our
complementary indicators, and was one of the few cities with an Adaptation Plan. However, the city did less well in charging stations, sustainable buildings, walkability, and bikeability.View more details...City Profile: Halifax
Overall, Halifax did well in our public transit, air quality, and walkability indicators, but was nearer to the bottom in the electric vehicle charging station indicator.View more details...City Profile: London, ON
Overall, London ranked higher than most in its progress in the Partners for Climate Protection network, but ranked poorly in democratic representation, urban agriculture and walkability.View more details...City Profile: Edmonton
Overall, Edmonton did well in the democratic representation indicator, but was nearer to the bottom in a number of others, including renewable energy, household waste and electric vehicle charging stations.View more details...City Profile: Oakville
Overall, Oakville did well by supplying data for every NCL Indicator, whether it was for the municipality itself or for the encompassing Region of Halton, but there is a lot of room for improvement.View more details...City Profile: Ottawa
Overall, Ottawa did well in indicators like bikeability, progress on climate mitigation, and urban green space, but was nearer to the bottom in a number of others, including sustainable building, affordable housing and the availability of shared vehicles.View more details...City Profile: Orillia
Overall, Orillia did well in household waste (360 kg/ household), water consumption (163 L/person/day) and transit trips (18 per capita) but was nearer to the bottom in gender representation (11%), bikeability (Bikescore of 47) and access to shared vehicles.View more details...City Profile: Québec City
Overall, Québec City did well in the affordable housing and water consumption indicators, but was nearer to the bottom
(for large cities) in the charging stations, urban agriculture, and walkability indicators.View more details...City Profile: Saint John, NB
Overall, Saint John did well in the air quality and municipal employees dedicated to the transition, but was nearer to the bottom in the charging stations, renewable energy, and democratic representation indicators.View more details...City Profile: Saskatoon
Overall, Saskatoon did well in the walkability indicator, the number of employees working full-time in the city’s climate or environment department, and the proportion of women and non-binary people sitting on the city council. But, Saskatoon was nearer to the bottom in the public transit (the total number of annual transit trips), bikeability, and shared vehicle indicators.View more details...City Profile: Sault Ste. Marie
Overall, Sault Ste. Marie performed as a city not yet engaged in strong action on climate change. However, Sault Ste. Marie is in only its first year of being profiled in the National Climate League standings and is therefore an excellent example of a city at the outset of its engagement in the first steps in climate action. Sault Ste. Marie has a population of under 74,000 and therefore, although classified as a medium city (population of 50,000 to 300,000), it has much more in common with small rural towns. The Sault is in Northern Ontario, and its nearest city neighbours are 300+ kilometres west or east.View more details...City Profile: Victoria
Victoria was the winner in Bikeability and Sustainable Buildings. Overall, Victoria also did well in availability of EV charging stations, regional public transit, renewable energy, shared vehicles, and walkability, but was nearer to the bottom in affordable housing. Victoria is exploring ramping up policies to keep on track with meeting its ambitious Climate Leadership Plan targets.View more details...City Profile: Toronto
Overall, Toronto did well in indicators like walkability, household waste and GHG reduction targets, but was nearer to the bottom in a number of others, including sustainable building, urban green space, affordable housing and the availability of shared vehicles.View more details...City Profile: Calgary
Overall, Calgary did well in the household waste indicator, tying for first with the city of Guelph, but was nearer to the bottom in air quality, charging stations, and municipal employees dedicated to the transition.View more details...City profile : Winnipeg
Overall, Winnipeg performed well in the areas of renewable energy and urban agriculture, but was nearer to the bottom in public transportation and walkability.View more details...City profile : Montreal
Overall, Montreal performed well in the areas of affordable housing, cycling, walkability, and energy mix, but was nearer to the bottom in sustainable buildings and urban green spaces.View more details...Snapshot of the National Climate League 2022 winners
Download the Standings to find out all the results across 26 primary and complimentary performance indicators!
2022 Results
All of the National Climate League results across
What is the National Climate League (NCL)?
The National Climate League is an annual volunteer-led, data collection project developed by The Climate Reality Project Canada, first launched in Winter 2018. The NCL is an exercise in participative democracy, highlighting solutions at the municipal level that help improve the lives of local residents and contribute to putting Canadian municipalities on a path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
To quantify those positive impacts and #MeasureWhatMatters, we track progress on fifteen primary and fifteen complementary indicators across our twenty-three hub cities.
We chose these indicators based on five criteria. Accessibility, comparability across cities, the ability of municipal governments to act, their impact on GHG emissions, and whether the average citizen cares about that particular indicator improving. We’ve developed 15 primary and 15 complementary indicators that are representative of living a better and more sustainable life.
At citizens' request, municipalities submit data for each indicator based on a variety of methodologies that the team at The Climate Reality Project Canada has established.
Award-winning
The National Climate League was among the 2022 Clean50 Top Projects Honourees!
Congratulations to all of our volunteers and our team for this accomplishment.
city profiles
Citizen-led and data-driven, the National Climate League enables volunteers to gather data on
sixteen carefully chosen primary indicators that reflect a better quality of life for everyday
Canadians living in municipalities. These Standings then function as both a benchmarking and a lobbying tool comparing how Canadian municipalities fare across these sustainability indicators. The National Climate League, local heroes, fighting for Climate Justice with data. Have a look at how some of Canada's major cities performed in 2021.National Climate League Pod
Click here to listen to our podcast series in partnership with McGill University and uncover indicators from the 2020 NCL standings. Learn how to be the change you want to see in your community!
PREVIOUS Standings
Download previous National Climate League’s Standings here.
- Do you want to stay informed about the publication of the Standings each year?
Sign up to receive our annual email about the publication of the National Climate League’s Standings.
About the Climate Reality Project Canada
The Climate Reality Project Canada is the Canadian branch of the Climate Reality Project, founded in 2006 by former Vice President of the United States and Nobel Laureate Al Gore. Its mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across all levels of society. It does so by training a vast and international network of Climate Reality Leaders to become effective communicators on the science and solutions to climate change.
There are 42,278 Climate Reality Leaders worldwide, of which 1,648 are in Canada. Their mission is to spread awareness amongst their peers and to advance solutions to the climate crisis.
The Climate Reality Canada is also the founder of the Community Climate Hubs initiative, which aims to decarbonise cities across the country.
For more information, visit www.climatereality.ca or follow us on Twitter: @Reality_Canada.
For more information about the National Climate League visit www.NCL-LNC.ca
For media inquiries:
Adam Sommerfeld
Communications and Social Media ManagerThe Climate Reality Project Canada
asommerfeld@climatereality.ca | (438) 540-1890
The Climate Reality Project Canada’s (CRPC) office is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg Nations. CRPC honours, recognizes and respects these Nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we are today.