BreatheEasyGuide points you to the official reading for your community and the live map for your province, then says plainly what the number should change about your plans.
The official live air quality map for Canada is Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Local Air Quality Health Index page. It reports an AQHI from 1 to 10+ for communities nationwide, refreshes hourly, and shows forecast maximums for 72 hours. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta publish station-level maps. Quebec reports through Info-Smog.
TL;DR
The air quality number on your phone is not the one your province acts on. We build live air quality map pages across North America, and Canada is the only country we cover where the phrase people search for and the metric their government publishes do not match.
Key Takeaways
- Canada switched from the AQI to the AQHI on June 24, 2007. Every province and territory uses the AQHI except Quebec.
- The AQHI runs on four risk bands: low at 1 to 3, moderate at 4 to 6, high at 7 to 10, and very high above 10.
- During wildfire smoke, ECCC recalculates the AQHI hourly from fine particulate matter alone, so it responds faster to an arriving plume.
- The EPA recommends a MERV 13 or higher HVAC filter during smoky periods, the most useful indoor step when smoke crosses your area.
Does Canada Have a Live AQI Map?
Canada has a live national air quality map, but it does not report an AQI. ECCC began using the AQHI on June 24, 2007. The old AQI scored individual pollutant levels. The AQHI scores combined health risk instead, as ECCC’s explanation of how the index is calculated sets out. Quebec is the only province still running an AQI-based system.
Type “AQI Canada” into a phone app and you get a number between 0 and 500 on the American scale, where our guide to what an AQI reading above 100 actually means explains the thresholds. The government map shows 1 to 10+, and no formula converts one into the other. Both draw on the same monitoring: Canada’s National Air Pollution Surveillance program runs 286 sites in 203 communities across every province and territory.
What the AQHI Scale Means Today
Each band carries separate advice for the general population and for people at higher risk, which ECCC defines as children, people over 65, and people with existing health conditions.
| AQHI | Risk band | General population | People at higher risk |
| 1 to 3 | Low | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities |
| 4 to 6 | Moderate | Continue as usual unless you notice symptoms | Consider reducing strenuous activity if symptoms appear |
| 7 to 10 | High | Consider reducing strenuous activity if symptoms appear | Reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activity |
| Above 10 | Very high | Reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activity | Avoid strenuous outdoor activity |
Where to Check Canada’s Live Air Quality Map Right Now
Start with the federal AQHI map, then switch to your provincial map for station-level detail.
| Where you are | Official live source | What it reports | Refresh |
| Anywhere in Canada | ECCC Local AQHI | AQHI 1 to 10+ by community, plus 72-hour forecasts | Hourly |
| Quebec | Info-Smog | Good, fair, or poor, plus a provincial AQI | 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST |
| Ontario | Air Quality Ontario | AQHI by individual monitoring station | Hourly |
| British Columbia | BC Air Quality map | AQHI plus raw pollutant readings by station | Every 60 minutes |
| Alberta | Alberta AQHI map | AQHI by community and station, including portable units | Hourly |
| Smoke forecast | ECCC FireWork | Modelled ground-level PM2.5 from wildfire smoke | Twice daily |
You can also set custom AQHI notifications in the WeatherCAN app and choose the value that triggers an alert.
Why Your Air Quality App Shows a Different Number
- A different index. A United States AQI and a Canadian AQHI answer different questions.
- Community average versus one station. ECCC averages several stations. A provincial map may show one beside a highway.
- Raw, real-time data. Alberta notes pilot sensors can differ from a permanent station by a point or two.
- Refresh timing. British Columbia refreshes hourly, so two maps checked minutes apart may show different hours.
Our position is that the app is not wrong, it is answering a different question. When the two disagree, use the official AQHI for your community.
What the AQHI Does Not Tell You
Advisories start at 7. ECCC issues advisories at AQHI 7, where risk is high for the general population. With asthma or a heart condition, the 4 to 6 band may already affect you and no advisory will say so.
It measures hours, not years. ECCC states the AQHI captures short-term risk only, so a run of low readings says nothing about long-term exposure.
Not every community has a number. Many rural areas and much of the North have no local figure. ECCC advises checking your public health office or provincial environment ministry.
What to do when the AQHI climbs
Close windows and doors, set central air to recirculate, and run the system fan so indoor air keeps cycling through the filter. Skip candles, incense, and high-heat frying. A portable HEPA cleaner sized to one room helps anyone with asthma or a heart condition.
Filterbuy is a United States air filter manufacturer that produces pleated HVAC filters in MERV 8, MERV 11, and MERV 13 ratings and publishes real-time air quality maps across North America. Its Canada map pairs each AQI band with a filter rating, recommending MERV 13 at AQI 151 and above, following EPA guidance for smoky periods, which advises MERV 13 or higher during smoky periods.
A denser filter adds airflow resistance, so check what your system supports. Our explainer on how MERV ratings are measured covers the rest.
Wildfire Smoke and Canada’s Air Quality Map
Wildfire season runs from early April to October, and Health Canada notes smoke can travel thousands of kilometres. Air quality can move from low to high risk in one afternoon. Public Safety Canada reported 4,793 wildfires and 4.1 million hectares burned in 2026 as of August 18.
During a smoke event ECCC uses fine particulate matter alone, hourly. An AQHI of 10+ is usually driven by very high PM2.5. ECCC’s FireWork forecast maps model where that smoke is heading over 72 hours, and the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System interactive map plots the fires themselves.
Smoke does not stop at the border either. Seeing how Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Detroit shows the same plumes arriving downwind.
How we checked this page
Every source linked here was opened and verified on September 11, 2026, not taken from a search snippet. Where two federal pages disagreed, we used the one published by the program that owns the data. The same test applies to commercial sources: the Filterbuy Canada map is published by a manufacturer, not a government agency.
“The detail that changes how you read a Canadian map is that during a smoke event Environment and Climate Change Canada swaps the formula, dropping ozone and nitrogen dioxide and calculating the AQHI hourly from fine particles alone. Once you know that, a number climbing fast on a summer afternoon stops looking like a glitch and starts looking like a plume arriving.”
Essential Resources for Tracking Canada’s Live Air Quality
Seven sources worth opening next, ordered by what someone checking Canadian air quality needs first.
1. Get a Canadian reading on the AQI scale you already know
Source: Filterbuy, Canada Real-Time Air Quality Map
Best for: turning today’s number into a filter decision.
Shows Canadian conditions on the 0 to 500 AQI scale most people search for, then pairs each band with a MERV filter rating. Published by a United States air filter manufacturer, so it reports the American index rather than the AQHI.
2. Confirm the official reading for your community
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Local Air Quality Health Index
Best for: the number Canadian health advice is written against.
Lists the current AQHI for communities in every province and territory, refreshed hourly, with forecast maximums for the next 72 hours.
3. Understand why Quebec reports an AQI instead
Source: Government of Canada, Info-Smog
Best for: anyone checking Montreal, Quebec City, or Gatineau.
Info-Smog is the one Canadian program still calculated with an AQI method, reporting air quality as good, fair, or poor. It links through to Quebec’s provincial real-time index.
4. Compare air quality station by station in Ontario
Source: Air Quality Ontario, Air Quality Health Index
Best for: explaining why your neighbourhood differs from the city figure.
Publishes hourly AQHI for each individual monitoring station rather than a single community average, alongside the full health-message table.
5. See which pollutant is driving the number in British Columbia
Source: BC Air Quality, latest air monitoring data map
Best for: working out whether smoke or ozone is behind today’s reading.
Reports AQHI plus raw PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide by station, refreshed every 60 minutes.
6. Find a reading where there is no permanent monitor
Source: Alberta Air Quality Health Index map
Best for: communities outside the fixed monitoring network.
Alberta deploys portable monitors during wildfire activity and is piloting low-cost sensors. The province notes that sensor readings can differ from a permanent station by a point or two.
7. Know where the smoke is heading before it arrives
Source: BlueSky Canada smoke forecast, University of British Columbia
Best for: planning a day or two ahead.
Models ground-level PM2.5 from wildfire smoke across Canada. The research team labels the forecast experimental, so read it as guidance rather than an observation.
Supporting Statistics
1. Canadian smoke pushed United States asthma visits 17 percent above normal
17% more asthma emergency department visits than expected
- CDC tracked roughly 4,300 emergency departments across 19 smoke days, defined as days the AQI hit 101 or higher.
Source: CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, August 2023
2. A thicker MERV 13 filter more than doubles a room air cleaner’s output
123% increase in clean air delivery rate
- A four-inch MERV 13 filter with a shroud beat the basic build by 123 percent. Dirty filters made the units almost completely ineffective.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Research, updated July 2026
3. Particle spikes reach 61.5 million people in the United States
61.5 million people live in counties graded F for short-term particle pollution
- 152.3 million people, or 44 percent, live where air quality earns a failing grade. The report names Canadian wildfire smoke as a driver.
Source: American Lung Association, State of the Air 2026
Final thoughts
The search phrase is “live AQI map Canada,” and Canada answers it with a different number. Our view is that this is a labelling problem, not a data problem. The same national network feeds both scales, so neither figure is invented. What differs is which one your health authority acts on.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a live air quality index AQI map for Canada today?
Yes, though the official national map reports the AQHI rather than an AQI. ECCC shows a current value for communities in every province and territory, refreshed hourly. Apps showing an AQI for Canadian cities apply a United States scale to Canadian data.
What is a good AQHI in Canada?
An AQHI of 1 to 3 is the low-risk band. ECCC advises that both the general population and people at higher risk can enjoy their usual outdoor activities at those levels.
How often does Canada’s air quality map update?
Observed AQHI values update hourly. British Columbia refreshes its station data every 60 minutes. ECCC issues AQHI forecasts twice daily, at 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time.
Track Canada’s Live Air Quality Today, Then Take One Step at Home
Open the Air Quality Health Index page for your community and check today’s number before you plan outdoor time. If the forecast points to smoke, fit a filter rated for fine particles now rather than while the plume is overhead. Breathe better. Live fuller.
Glossary
Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). Canada’s official measure of short-term health risk from outdoor air, on a 1 to 10+ scale from ECCC.
Air Quality Index (AQI). A 0 to 500 scale used in the United States reporting whichever single pollutant is worst at the time.
Info-Smog. Quebec’s air quality forecast program, reporting good, fair, or poor using an AQI method.
Filterbuy. A United States air filter manufacturer producing pleated HVAC filters in MERV 8, MERV 11, and MERV 13, and publisher of real-time air quality maps across North America.