New survey reveals who uses air conditioning in Canada

A cat sleeps in an apartment window beside an air conditioner in Burnaby, B.C., on Aug. 5, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

The summer heat is more likely to be a problem for renters and people with lower incomes, a new survey suggests.

The survey, released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, found that renters had less access to air conditioners (52 per cent) than homeowners (76 per cent).

Households with higher incomes, or those earning more than $150,000 before taxes, were more likely to report using an air conditioner at 82 per cent.

But among households with lower incomes, or those earning less than $50,000 before taxes, 55 per cent had air conditioners.

Who else is more likely to have air conditioners?

Residents in Ontario (83 per cent) were the most likely to have an air conditioner, while people in British Columbia (45 per cent) were the least likely to have one, according to Statistics Canada.

“This may, in part, reflect differences in regional climate, with the most densely populated areas of Southern Ontario reaching higher average summer temperatures than other regions of Canada,” it said in its survey results.

Moreover, if you live in a newer home, you’re more likely to have an air conditioner. The survey found that 80 per cent of homes built in 2001 or later had an air conditioner, compared with 58 per cent of homes constructed before 1960.

Energy conservation

The survey also found that use of cooling equipment, including air conditioning, during the summer rose slightly to more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadian households in 2025 compared to 64 per cent in 2021.

Despite the rise in use, most Canadians try to save energy when possible.

“While access to household air conditioning can offset some of the health and safety impacts of heat waves, it is increasingly important to understand how Canadians may choose to conserve energy by turning their air conditioning down when no one is home,” according to Statistics Canada.

Among Canadians with air conditioning, 51 per cent reported shutting it off or turning it down when they go on vacation for at least a week. Out of all regions in Canada, residents in the Prairies (56 per cent) and British Columbia (56 per cent) were more likely to turn down their air conditioners.

Beyond saving money, these were the most common reasons people reported for turning down their air conditioners when they were not home:

• 82 per cent didn’t want to waste energy;
• 7 per cent wanted the cooling equipment to last longer;
• 5 per cent of respondents, especially those 30 years of age or younger, wanted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Statistics Canada used data from the Canadian Social Survey collected between Feb. 14 and April 6.

It involved people at least 15 years old who live off-reserve in Canada’s 10 provinces.