Compare Green Spaces and Parks in Canadian Cities: 2022 Ranking

Canadian city rankings on green space depend on what is counted, and two rankings can both be accurate yet point in opposite directions. A 2022 study by the real estate website Calgary.com, reported by STOREYS on 18 November 2022, rated cities on a single composite score out of 100. Reading that score correctly requires knowing its scope, its components, and what a single number cannot show.

Why compare green spaces between Canadian cities?

Scope of the 2022 Green Score study

The study’s key facts are listed below. The sources consulted do not specify how the three components are weighted against each other.

The scale is limited to Canadian cities, and the score is a relative ranking. It does not measure how green a city is in absolute terms.

Score components

• Parkland: the study reports parkland both as hectares per 1,000 people and as a share of city land. These two measures can give different pictures of the same city.
• Green area: included as a component. The sources consulted do not specify how it is measured.
• Community gardens: included as a component, counted per city.

Why one metric alone misleads city comparisons

A composite score hides which component drives a city’s position. Toronto ranked 4th with a score of 74.57, despite reporting only 2.7 ha of parkland per 1,000 people, the lowest per-capita figure among the cities cited in the study excerpt. Its rank reflects other components and the share of city land, not per-capita access alone.

Comparing cities therefore means checking three things before comparing ranks:

• Whether the score is out of 100 and which components it includes.
• Which component explains a city’s position, using the individual figures.
• The publication date, since a 2022 snapshot may not reflect current conditions.

Which Canadian cities have the most parkland per person?

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, has the most parkland per resident among the cities in Calgary.com’s 2022 study, with 28.1 hectares per 1,000 residents, according to STOREYS (2022-11-18). Gatineau follows at 17.2 hectares per 1,000, while Calgary and Edmonton report 7 and 6.2 hectares per 1,000 respectively.

Source: Calgary.com, 2022 “Green Score” ranking, reported by STOREYS (2022-11-18).

The per-capita order does not match the overall score order. Edmonton ranks second overall even though its 6.2 ha per 1,000 residents is below Calgary’s 7 ha and well below Prince Albert’s and Gatineau’s. Toronto’s 2.7 ha is the lowest figure in this table. Edmonton also has the lowest parkland share (8%) and the most community gardens in the study (104). Because the weighting and the green-area figures are not published in the sources, they do not show which component lifted its rank. The sources do not specify how the components are weighted. Prince Albert’s lead on the per-capita measure is the largest gap in the set: its figure is roughly 1.6 times Gatineau’s and more than four times Edmonton’s.

Parkland share versus hectares per 1,000 residents

A city’s parkland share (park area as a percentage of city land) and its hectares per 1,000 residents measure different things, and they can rank the same city very differently. In a 2022 Green Score ranking of Canadian cities, published by Calgary.com and reported by STOREYS (2022), the two measures pulled cities in opposite directions.

Edmonton has the lowest parkland share in this group at 8%. Toronto’s 13% share is higher than Calgary’s 11%, but its 2.7 hectares per 1,000 residents is the lowest figure in the table, and it ranked fourth. Prince Albert leads on both measures, with 20% of land and 28.1 hectares per 1,000 residents.

The two figures are linked by arithmetic. Hectares per 1,000 residents equals (parkland share × city land area in hectares) ÷ population × 1,000.

Reading the two columns side by side gives a clearer picture than the overall rank alone.

Why does Toronto’s parkland per resident look low?

Toronto’s 2.7 ha per 1,000 people is the lowest figure in the Calgary.com ranking. The sources do not say why, and the ratio alone cannot show the cause. In the Calgary.com ranking published by STOREYS (2022), Toronto recorded 2.7 ha per 1,000 people, compared with 6.2 ha in Edmonton, 7 ha in Calgary and 17.2 ha in Gatineau. The study excerpt does not explain this gap. A per-capita ratio divides park area by resident count, so it can be low without meaning there is no green space. Density is one possible explanation, but the sources do not confirm it.

Population density and dwelling type

• Density: In a high-density core, each park hectare serves many more residents, so the ratio falls even when the park network is extensive.
• Dwelling type: Apartment-heavy neighbourhoods offer less private outdoor space, so residents rely more on public parks. The ratio does not capture that extra demand on the same hectares.
• Low-rise areas: Cities with more detached housing and private yards can show a lower public-park ratio while residents still have substantial outdoor space.

Municipal boundary definitions

The denominator is the population inside the municipal boundary, and the numerator must match that boundary. Regional parks, ravines or waterfront land managed by other bodies may sit outside the city line while serving its residents, or sit inside it while serving a wider region. Either way, the ratio can move without any change on the ground. The official sources consulted do not specify how the study matched each city’s boundary to its parkland inventory.

Montreal: a data gap in this study

The Calgary.com figures available for this article cover Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Gatineau, but include no Montreal per-capita value. Montreal therefore cannot be placed on the same scale here, and any claim that it scores low would depend on data the official sources consulted do not provide.

How do community gardens change the picture?

According to the Calgary.com Green Score ranking, reported by STOREYS (2022-11-18), community gardens are scored alongside parkland and green area. Edmonton and Toronto show how much this changes the result. Edmonton had the most community gardens in the study, with 104, and ranked 2nd overall with a score of 80.26. Toronto had 79 and ranked 4th with a score of 74.57.

Edmonton’s garden count is the highest in the study, while its parkland per person is more than double Toronto’s. Community gardens add a second layer of green space that parkland figures alone do not capture.

Counting gardens and measuring garden area are different methods. A count gives every garden the same weight, so a small plot and a large site both add one unit. The official sources consulted do not specify the total area of the community gardens in either city, so the ranking cannot show how much land they cover. Reading the count as a measure of green coverage therefore overstates the effect for cities with many small plots and understates it for cities with fewer, larger ones.

When comparing neighbourhoods or cities on this basis, check three points:

• Whether the figure is a count of gardens or the area they occupy.
• Whether the study counts only municipal plots or also institutional and private sites.
• Whether the count is shown alongside per-capita parkland, since a high garden count in a dense city can mean less space per resident.

Prairie and mid-sized cities versus big metros

Population size and land area explain much of the structural gap between smaller and larger Canadian cities. A per-capita park ratio divides green space by residents. A city with a large municipal land base and a modest population can therefore post a high figure even when its total parkland is smaller than a metro’s.

The denominator matters more than the raw hectares. The Calgary.com Green Score study (STOREYS, 2022-11-18) reports parkland per 1,000 people alongside the share of city land designated as parkland. The per-capita figure shows how much green space each resident has on paper. The land share shows how much of the municipal footprint is set aside for parks. A mid-sized city can lead on the first measure while a larger city leads on the second.

The study is also a single snapshot. It is one ranking, published in November 2022, based on three components: parkland, green area and community gardens, scored out of 100. Park inventories also change over time as cities annex land, build new parks or revise how they classify open space. A single year’s ranking should be read as a point-in-time comparison, not as a durable measure of which cities are greener.

What to check before choosing a neighbourhood

City-wide figures describe the whole municipality, so two neighbourhoods in the same city can offer very different park access. The Calgary.com green ranking, reported by STOREYS in November 2022, compares whole cities, so it cannot show differences between neighbourhoods. Before choosing a neighbourhood, check the parks you could actually reach from a specific address.

Measure walking distance to the nearest park entrance

Measure from the front door of each candidate address to the nearest official park entrance, following the street network. A straight-line distance can understate the trip when rail lines, highways or rivers without nearby crossings force a detour. The official sources consulted do not specify a standard walking threshold, so set your own limit and compare candidate addresses against it.

Use municipal open data and Statistics Canada population figures

Most municipal open data portals publish park inventories, and many include boundaries and names that can be mapped. Check whether the portal lists park boundaries, then use Statistics Canada population counts for the census area around the candidate address. Divide the park hectares within reach by the local population to estimate park area per resident at neighbourhood level, rather than relying on the city total.

Check park size, amenities and maintenance status

Park size changes what a park can offer. A large park can host sports fields and long paths, while a small pocket park serves mainly nearby residents. For each candidate park, record:

Maintenance status is hard to judge from a map. Visit at different times of day, and check whether the municipality publishes a maintenance schedule or service reports for the park.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Green Score of 100 mean Prince Albert is the greenest city in Canada?

No. Prince Albert (SK) topped the Calgary.com ranking with a composite score of 100 out of 100, but that score only places it relative to the other cities in the study. Only five cities are compared here, so the result says nothing about how green Prince Albert is compared with the rest of the country.

Why does Edmonton rank second when its parkland per resident is lower than Calgary’s?

Edmonton scored 80.26 against Calgary’s 67.67, while its 6.2 ha per 1,000 residents is below Calgary’s 7 ha. The published sources do not state the component weighting, so the reason for Edmonton’s higher rank cannot be confirmed. Edmonton does report the most community gardens (104) of the cities listed, but that alone does not explain its position.

Can per-resident parkland figures tell me how green my own neighbourhood is?

No. The study compares whole cities and includes no neighbourhood data. A per-capita ratio divides total park area by the city’s population, so it describes an average that may differ sharply from what residents of a particular district can reach on foot.

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