Swimming

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Abstract

Swimming is one of the uses of freshwater. The map shows the amount of participation as mapped by major watershed. Not surprisingly, the highest absolute numbers occur in southern Canada.

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With Canada's abundance of surface freshwater it is not surprising that outdoor swimming is a popular summer activity. Millions of Canadians enjoy swimming in freshwater rivers, ponds and lakes. Many municipalities operate beaches for local residents. Many other people swim in some of the clear lakes of the Canadian Shield. Beaches and swimming are also commonly found in Canada's parks. There is also a great deal of indoor swimming throughout Canada, although this was not measured for this survey, nor is it mapped here.

On a per capita basis, however, there is a remarkable similarity in participation rates across Canada as measured by visits per person. Other than very low values for the Arctic and Mississippi drainage areas (2.9 and 4.5 visits per person, respectively), all values range from 12.6 to 17.9, with the highest value being for the area representing northern Quebec.

The source of the data is the survey carried out in 1996. In that year, Statistics Canada conducted a survey on behalf of a nationwide partnership of 16 federal, provincial and territorial agencies interested in nature-related activies. The Survey on the Importance of Nature to Canadians asked 87 000 Canadians 15 years and over about relevant activities in 1996.

In addition to having detailed information on participation in swimming, the survey also asked about concerns and found that Canadians worry about pollution of outdoor swimming areas.

Figure 1 shows a summary of data for outdoor swimming by province or territory from the survey.

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Figure 1. Participation in Swimming by Canadians, 1996