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State of the Sector Report

  • All
  • COVID-19
  • Cross-Sectoral Connections
  • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • Health, Wellbeing & Development
  • Indigenous Peoples and Place-Based Outdoor Play
  • Outdoor Play Environments
  • Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play
  • Professional Development
  • Research & Data Collection
  • Safety & Outdoor Play

Winter Walk Day is celebrated by schools across Ontario on the first Wednesday of February each year. Walking and wheeling to and from school is fun every day. We encourage you to journey outside throughout the entire month of February. This year, Winter Walk Day is Wednesday 5 February 2020. Students across the province will celebrate on...

On November 20th of last year, Outdoor Play Canada published an article titled, "If In Doubt, Let Them Out – A Child’s Right to Play," marking the 30th anniversary of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In mid-December, this article was published in The Conversation. Click here to read the article in The Conversation.   ...

New research from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Measures Survey reaffirmed the dramatic decline in Canadian children’s fitness seen over the past 35 years with only a third of Canadian school-aged children meeting physical activity guidelines. Other research from the same survey showed that physical activity increases when children are outdoors, with each additional hour spent...

Yesterday, Dr. Mark Tremblay was interviewed by CTV Ottawa about the decline in outdoor play among Canadian children and youth and what we can do about it. Click here to view the 4-minute segment....

Make sure your voice is heard. Ontario Parks is halfway through the Healthy Parks Healthy People consultation period. The time to submit your feedback on nature and health is now! We know nature is a valuable tool for producing positive health outcomes. Ontario Parks is ready to take action, but they need your help first. They...

Check out the new documentary “Running Free: Children’s Independent Mobility”! Told through the eyes of 3 families, this 26-minute documentary explores the concept of children’s independent mobility, the benefits for children’s mental health, and challenges viewers to consider solutions to this issue. Watch it here: [vc_video link='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKOXfa8NfTY&feature=youtu.be']...

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Ottawa, September 27, 2019 – Outdoor Play Canada was launched today at the Breath of Fresh Air Outdoor Play Summit in Ottawa – an open-air conference where outdoor play thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers gathered to exchange knowledge and best practices for promoting outdoor play. Outdoor Play Canada has a vision that outdoor play is...

The second edition of the Canadian Parks Conference will be held at the Québec City Convention Centre from October 7 to October 10, 2019 on the topic Parks for all and all for parks. The issues that will be addressed include collaboration, connecting to nature, conservation, and leadership. The event is coming up soon. If you don’t...