is today earth day is the question many Canadians are asking as Earth Day Canada uses this year’s campaign to push a simple message: everyday purchasing choices can help the planet. The focus is “conscious consumption, ” a theme tied to food choices, waste reduction, and smaller environmental impacts. The campaign lands as Earth Day continues to be used to raise awareness about environmental challenges and motivate individual and community action.
Earth Day and the push for conscious consumption
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year. It was first marked in the U. S. in 1970 and went international in 1990, with Canada among the countries to join that global environmental movement. This year, Earth Day Canada says its campaign is meant to remind people that they have power through simple, everyday choices at both the individual and collective level.
The organization says conscious consumption means consuming less, but better, to reduce environmental impact while improving quality of life without necessarily implying deprivation. It describes the idea as a concrete, positive, and accessible response at a time of growing pressure on natural resources and ecosystems.
Food waste sits at the center of the message
One major focus is food waste. Environment and Climate Change Canada says food that is produced but not eaten ends up in landfills and creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. That warning frames the environmental case for changing consumer behavior, especially around what people buy, store, and discard.
Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, has put hard numbers to the problem in its October 2024 report, The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste: Update. The report says 41. 7% of this food could be redirected to support Canadians, and that the total value of avoidable food waste every year is $58 billion. Second Harvest rescues unsold surplus food from businesses across the supply chain and redistributes it to non-profits in every province and territory.
For Earth Day Canada, the message is not only about waste, but also about action that can be taken now. is today earth day is also a reminder that the environmental conversation is being linked directly to the choices people make in stores, kitchens, and households.
Business partnerships and immediate reactions
Healthy Planet, a health and wellness retail chain with 43 stores across Ontario, is one of the businesses working with Second Harvest. In the 12 months ending in October 2025, Healthy Planet donated healthy food items to Second Harvest valued at around $280, 000, equivalent to 62, 425 meals. The company says those donations helped divert 171, 842. 14 lbs. of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.
“Empowering our customers to make choices to benefit the environment is at the core of everything we do, ” said Muhammad Mohamedy, general manager of Healthy Planet. “That includes giving them opportunities to support food waste reduction and to purchase sustainable, locally sourced products wherever possible. ”
Healthy Planet also held a Good Food Drive in late summer last year to coincide with the back-to-school season. The company donated 300, 000 non-GMO, kid-friendly ingredients to local food banks to support the health and well-being of children in need.
Earth Day Canada says, “Conscious consumption encourages us to consume less, but better, in order to reduce our impact on the planet while improving our quality of life, without necessarily implying deprivation. ”
What comes next
Earth Day remains a yearly marker for environmental action, and its message has widened over time from pollution concerns to broader climate and sustainability questions. This year’s Earth Day centers on the slogan “Our Power, Our Planet” and encourages collective action against environmental impacts.
For Canadians, the current campaign keeps the spotlight on practical steps and the role of consumer power. As Earth Day 2026 takes shape, Earth Day Canada is betting that is today earth day will lead more people to think differently about what they buy, what they waste, and what they can help save.
