Clean Indoor Air Toronto

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Everyone deserves clean indoor air!

Clean air is essential for good health. We spend most of our time indoors, yet there are no laws or regulations that directly govern indoor air quality. We are advocating for policies and actions that will ensure the air in our shared indoor spaces is clean and safe to breathe.

ABOUT US
PRIORITIES

Policy Objectives

Indoor air quality by Eucalyp from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
IAQ Governance

A city-wide indoor air quality (IAQ) policy and bylaw that is effective for controlling airborne diseases and fine particulate air pollution.

Carbon dioxide sensor by Tomas Knopp from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
CO2 monitoring

A CO2 monitoring system for municipal buildings and public schools, including real-time public reporting of CO2 data.

Incentives

A program to accelerate IAQ improvement in Toronto’s buildings, including incentives for HVAC upgrades/retrofits.

Learn more about our past and current advocacy initiatives.

Latest Update: August 13, 2025

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FACTS

Did you know?

No law by Lars Meiertoberens from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
No IAQ Governance

There are no laws in Canada that directly regulate indoor air quality. There is no standard for what constitutes clean, safe-to-breathe air.

Checklist by kusuma potter from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
No Verification

Indoor air quality and compliance with the Ontario Building Code is assumed but not verified after completion of a new building. The ventilation is only checked if someone complains.

Law Enforcement by bsd studio from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
No Enforcement

Compliance with the ventilation standard in the Ontario Building code is not enforced. There are no serious penalties for builders or building owners for ventilation that is non-compliant.

Poor ventilation means increased exposure to harmful pollutants and more airborne disease transmission.

70%

Due to poor IAQ, schools and child care centres typically serve as hubs of disease transmission to the surrounding community. About 70% of cases of household spread of COVID-19 began with a child.

74%

Improving IAQ significantly reduces the risk of infections. Classrooms with mechanical ventilation show a 74% reduction of infection risk compared to classrooms with passive ventilation.

10 L/s

The minimum ventilation rate to effectively control airborne diseases in a classroom, as recommended by over 40 experts. However, many classrooms do not even meet the standard of 7-7.5 L/s per person as required in current building code.