The federal government climate report also warns that changes are already clear in many parts of the country and are expected to accelerate.

"The science is clear - Canada's climate is warming more rapidly than the global average, and this level of warming effectively cannot be changed," Nancy Hamzawi, assistant deputy minister for science and technology at Environment and Climate Change Canada said.

Canada's Arctic has seen the greatest impact and will continue to warm at more than double the global rate. The report suggests that many of the effects already seen probably unable to be reversed.

Canada's annual average temperature has warmed by an estimated 1.7C (3F) since 1948, when nationwide temperatures were first recorded.

The largest temperature increases have been seen in the North, the Prairies, and in northern British Columbia.

Annual average temperature in Northern Canada increased by approximately 2.3C.

"While both human activities and natural variations in the climate have contributed to the observed warming in Canada, the human factor is dominant," the report states. "It is likely that more than half of the observed warming in Canada is due to the influence of human activities."

Canada has already promised to cut emissions by 200m tonnes by 2030 - a key feature of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national climate strategy - largely through a federally enforced carbon tax and closing of coal-fired plants.

The report came as the government levied carbon taxes on four of Canada's 10 provinces for failing to introduce their own plans for dealing with climate change.