Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep (PASS) Indicators: Overview

Indicators are also grouped into 3 key domains:

• individual
• family and social environment
• built and society environment

Together they provide an overall picture of how active people are in Canada. This information helps develop evidence-based policies and programs for a healthy and active population.

Using the site

Use the tabs to navigate to specific information.

• Overview: background on PASS Indicators and the latest national statistics with a description for each indicator measure
• Key findings: a summary of the latest findings from PASS Indicators
• Data tool: detailed data for each indicator measure with breakdowns by sex, key demographics and socioeconomic variables
• Publications: a list of journal articles, infographics and data blogs related to the PASS Indicators, released by PHAC

Refresh of PASS Indicators

The PASS Indicators were first developed in 2014 and launched in 2017. In 2024, PHAC began a process to review the PASS Indicators. The aim was to ensure they are relevant and appropriate for national, population-level surveillance and, ultimately, to inform public health actions.

We invited Canadian and international surveillance experts to identify where indicators needed to be modified. Their review ensured indicators are comprehensive and consistent with current research literature. Four focused workshops were held to examine possible gaps in:

• strength and balance training
• physical literacy
• physical activity among people living with disabilities
• active living environments

Information from these workshops helped revise existing indicators and identify new ones. Where possible, indicators and/or measures were revised based on the feedback. In some cases, more work is needed to identify specific indicator measures and obtain new or enhanced data.

New in the 2025 edition

• Sex-specific breakdowns are included in the Data tool
• Key findings tab added to interpret the latest data
• In addition to aerobic physical activity, measures for 2 more components of the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines’ physical activity recommendation:
  • muscle strengthening activity (youth aged 12 to 17 years and adults aged 18 years and older)
  • balance challenging activities (adults aged 65 years and older)
• Where appropriate, indicator wording was revised for inclusivity — for example, ‘Presence of parks and recreation facilities’ was revised to ‘Presence and accessibility of parks and recreation facilities’
• A new national indicator for cycling infrastructure for children, youth and adults that measures safety and comfort and that can be compared across regions

Areas for development

• Identify specific measures to monitor physical activity at lower-intensity levels
• Incorporate sleep data that is measured by devices for objective measures of sleep health
• Include disability status as a way to breakdown data (disaggregation variable) where possible
• Develop new data sources for movement behaviours and factors among persons of all ages and abilities

Quick stats

Click any of the 4 activities listed under adults (18 years and older) or children and youth (5 to 17 years). A list of all indicator measures with estimates from across Canada, where available, will unfold. For more details about measures (excluding those "In development"), click the "Description" link next to each measure.

2025 PASS Indicators Quick stats tables are available as printer-friendly PDFs.

• 2025 Pass Indicator Quick stats — children and youth (PDF)
• 2025 Pass Indicator Quick stats — adults (PDF)