Carney Government Confirms 3.8 Billion Dollar Force of Nature Biodiversity Strategy in Spring Economic Update

The federal spring economic update has confirmed approximately 3.8 billion dollars in dedicated funding over five years for the Carney government's Force of Nature biodiversity strategy, a package that is intended to support the country's progression toward its commitment to protect thirty per cent of land and ocean areas by 2030 and to advance the broader Canadian implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the United Nations biodiversity conference in 2022. The strategy combines federal investments in protected areas expansion, species at risk recovery, ecosystem restoration, and Indigenous-led conservation, and is structured to reinforce existing federal-provincial-Indigenous frameworks rather than to introduce a fundamentally new conservation policy direction.

What the strategy funds

The Force of Nature funding is structured around four primary pillars. The first is protected areas expansion, which provides federal funding for the establishment and management of national parks, national marine conservation areas, national wildlife areas, and other federal protected areas, alongside contributions to provincial and Indigenous-led protected areas networks. The funding is intended to support significant new federal protected areas establishment over the coming years.

The second pillar is species at risk recovery, providing funding for the implementation of the Species at Risk Act and for the recovery of priority species and ecosystems. Federal investments support recovery actions for species including the southern resident killer whale, the boreal caribou, the spotted owl, the right whale, and others. Implementation of recovery strategies and action plans is the central focus of this pillar.

The third pillar is ecosystem restoration, providing funding for restoration of ecosystems including wetlands, forests, grasslands, and freshwater systems. The federal Ecological Gifts Programme, the National Wetland Conservation Programme, and other federal restoration programmes are supported through this funding stream. Partnership funding with provincial and Indigenous-led restoration efforts is also included.

The fourth pillar is Indigenous-led conservation, providing funding for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, for Indigenous Guardian programmes, and for Indigenous-led ecosystem stewardship across the country. The federal commitment to Indigenous-led conservation has been one of the more visible features of the broader biodiversity strategy and has been welcomed by Indigenous organisations as an important element of reconciliation through environmental stewardship.

The 30 by 30 commitment

The 30 by 30 commitment refers to Canada's pledge to protect thirty per cent of land and ocean areas by 2030, made at the 2022 United Nations biodiversity conference held in Montreal. The commitment is part of the broader Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which set out a series of global biodiversity targets to be achieved by the end of the decade.

Canada has been making measurable progress toward the commitment but has not yet reached the thirty per cent threshold for either terrestrial or marine protected areas. As of the most recent federal data, approximately fourteen per cent of Canadian land and freshwater areas are formally protected, alongside roughly fifteen per cent of marine areas. Reaching thirty per cent in both categories within the next four years will require significant continued investment and coordination across federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous jurisdictions.

The Force of Nature funding is intended to provide federal financial support for the work required to advance toward the commitment. Federal protected areas establishment can be funded directly. Federal contributions to provincial and Indigenous-led protected areas networks support the broader system. Implementation of the necessary monitoring, management, and restoration work supports the durability of the protected areas being established.

Indigenous-led conservation

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas have been one of the most significant developments in Canadian conservation across recent years. IPCAs, as they are known, are areas where Indigenous governments lead the conservation work, with their authority recognised by federal, provincial, and territorial partners. The model has been welcomed by Indigenous organisations as both a conservation approach and as an expression of broader Indigenous self-determination.

The federal Indigenous Guardian programme supports Indigenous-led monitoring and stewardship of lands and waters. Guardian programmes have been operating across multiple regions, with Indigenous Guardians performing roles ranging from wildlife monitoring to climate change observation to compliance enforcement on Indigenous-led protected areas. The federal funding supports the operation of guardian programmes alongside Indigenous government investment.

The Force of Nature strategy includes continuing federal commitment to Indigenous-led conservation, with funding levels designed to support the expansion of IPCAs and the broader operation of Indigenous-led stewardship. The Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Metis National Council have all engaged on the strategy and have welcomed elements of the federal commitment while also calling for continued expansion across coming years.

Provincial and territorial dimensions

The Force of Nature strategy operates within a broader federal-provincial-territorial framework for biodiversity. Provinces and territories hold significant constitutional jurisdiction over lands, wildlife, and conservation within their respective jurisdictions, and provincial and territorial action is essential to reaching the 30 by 30 target.

Provincial responses to the federal strategy have varied. British Columbia, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces have generally welcomed the federal investment and have indicated continuing intent to advance protected areas establishment within their jurisdictions. The Atlantic provinces in particular have been working through the implications for marine protected areas establishment alongside ongoing federal efforts.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have offered more cautious responses to elements of the federal strategy, particularly where it intersects with resource development questions. Both provinces have emphasised provincial jurisdiction and have argued that conservation work within their jurisdictions must be designed to accommodate continued resource sector activity. Manitoba has taken a more middle path, with provincial work on Indigenous-led conservation having advanced in recent years.

The territories have welcomed elements of the federal strategy that support northern conservation, particularly Indigenous-led conservation in the territories. The Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, Sahtu, and Tlicho governments in the Northwest Territories, alongside the Government of Yukon and the Nunavut land claims agreement signatories, have been working on continued advancement of northern protected areas establishment.

The biodiversity science context

The Force of Nature strategy operates against a backdrop of significant scientific concern about the trajectory of biodiversity in Canada and globally. The Canadian assessments produced by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and by the federal State of Canada's Forests, Birds, and Oceans reports have all documented continuing pressures on biodiversity from habitat loss, from climate change, from pollution, and from invasive species.

Canadian biodiversity is particularly significant globally for several reasons. The Canadian boreal forest is one of the largest intact forest systems on the planet. Canadian wetlands and freshwater systems are similarly significant. Canadian Arctic and northern ecosystems are facing rapid change as a function of climate change at rates well above the global average. Pacific and Atlantic marine ecosystems support globally significant fisheries and marine biodiversity.

The scientific case for sustained investment in biodiversity has been articulated by a wide range of Canadian and international research organisations. The Canadian Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and many other conservation organisations have been engaged in implementation of conservation work alongside federal, provincial, and Indigenous partners.

Reaction from environmental organisations

Major Canadian environmental organisations have offered broadly positive reactions to the Force of Nature strategy. The Nature Conservancy of Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the Pembina Institute on related questions, and Environmental Defence have all welcomed the federal commitment while continuing to press for additional investment and policy action.

The reactions have generally emphasised that the federal commitment is necessary but not sufficient. The 30 by 30 target requires significant continued investment, significant provincial and territorial cooperation, and significant attention to implementation across the multiple federal departments involved. The integration of conservation policy with the broader policy environment, including resource development, agriculture, and climate policy, will continue to be a feature of the implementation work.

Some environmental organisations have raised specific concerns about elements of the broader policy environment. The interaction between conservation policy and major project assessment, including the Impact Assessment Act and the federal regulatory environment for major infrastructure, has been the subject of ongoing engagement. The implications of the Canada Strong Fund, with its mandate to invest in major projects of national interest, for biodiversity outcomes is a continuing area of attention.

Provincial conservation organisations

Provincial conservation organisations including the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the Federation Quebecoise pour le Saumon Atlantique, and provincial branches of major federal conservation organisations have been engaged in the broader implementation of the strategy. The provincial dimension of conservation work, including provincial protected areas networks, provincial species at risk implementation, and provincial-Indigenous conservation partnerships, requires the engagement of provincial conservation organisations alongside federal and Indigenous partners.

What's next

The Force of Nature strategy will be implemented across the coming five years through multiple federal departments, including Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Specific programme designs will be released in stages across the coming months as the budget appropriations are operationalised.

The next major international biodiversity moment will be the United Nations biodiversity conference scheduled for 2026, which will assess progress on the Kunming-Montreal Framework's targets. Canada's reporting against its own commitments will be one of the more visible elements of the international assessment.

For Canadians, the Force of Nature strategy is one element of a broader environmental policy package that includes climate policy, water policy, ocean management, and broader sustainability work. Whether the cumulative federal commitment delivers on its stated objectives across the coming years will be one of the central questions of Canadian environmental policy in the period ahead.