The Clock is Ticking for Nature
Canada is running out of time to protect what sustains us.
After the 2025 federal election, Canadians expected the government to act on its promise to protect nature. When Mark Carney first spoke of “bold new approaches” to protect Canada’s natural heritage for future generations, it inspired hope. Yet key federal funding for nature protection is set to expire on March 31.
If it is not renewed, critical conservation work across the country will halt—wasting years of research, partnerships built, momentum gained, and trust established. Projects already underway could stall, and previous federal investments will be left unfulfilled.
An uncertain future for nature puts ecosystems at risk and leaves communities without the environmental and economic benefits they were promised.
Despite declarations of a “time of crisis”, the government has made it clear that nature is not on their agenda, or the balance sheet.
Canadians don’t want to inherit a legacy of environmental destruction.
The federal government’s priorities have shifted dramatically with the change in political and economic winds. They speak of building a stronger and united Canada, yet we see our country being opened for unfettered development that doesn’t consider the impact on our environment and Indigenous rights and leadership. Allowing conservation funding to expire and weakening nature protection amid accelerated development, sends a troubling signal about what truly matters.
Nature isn’t a luxury; it’s a lifeline and a foundational economic asset.
Polls by Abacus Data show that 90% of Canadians want nature protection alongside economic growth. Across the country, our communities rely on nature’s health to support their livelihoods and local economies like tourism, fisheries, forestry, agriculture, and clean-tech investment—while also reducing the costly impacts of floods, wildfires, and climate change.
Letting federal funding expire on March 31 would undermine both conservation and economic resilience.
We have the tools, knowledge, and public support to protect and restore 30% of Canada’s land, freshwater, and ocean by 2030—but we can’t do this with a government that lacks political will and economic foresight.
We need to remind the government that Canadians care about nature.
Investing in nature means investing in our future. With your help, we can get nature’s seat back at the decision-making table and on the federal balance sheet. Economic growth and environmental stewardship can progress together.
It’s not too late to be a part of something bigger and create real change.
March 31 is fast approaching.
The time to act is now. Will you step up for nature?
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Canada Missed the Mark for Nature in 2025
- January 2025: Bill C-73 (Nature Accountability Act) is sidelined when parliament was prorogued. The Act wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
- April 2025: Things looked a little brighter when nature was introduced into the Liberal Election Platform—although the promises were mild, it was a step in the right direction.
- June 2025: Bill C-5 “One Canadian Economy Act” was rushed through parliament, allowing a federal process that could scale back environmental protections and bypass consultation with Indigenous communities.
- November 2025: The days got shorter and darker—so did nature’s prospects when nature was not mentioned at all in the federal budget and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Audit (CESD) showed how much more funding still needed to meet the scale of work needed to effectively reach Canada’s nature protection goals.
- Late 2025: With the Nature Strategy still M.I.A, Carney then signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta to carve new industrial corridors that would leave gaps in environmental safeguards, possibly putting the north Pacific coast and its communities at risk.
Every month that passes without action is a missed opportunity to secure our natural heritage.
Write to the Prime Minister. Call your M.P. and key decision-makers.
Tell them Canadians shouldn’t have to choose between nature and prosperity. Projects that respect environmental safeguards and Indigenous rights are already underway, proving this balance works.
There is a path to economic stability that safeguards natural systems. It’s time for the government to renew conservation funding and guide us down a sustainable path to long-term prosperity.
Contact P.M. Mark Carney and Ministers Champagne and Dabrusin:
- PM’s office
- François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue
- Julie Aviva Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature
cc’d Ministers: Tim Hodgson (Energy and Natural Resources), Joanne Thompson (Fisheries), Dominic Leblanc (Internal and Canada-U.S. Trade), and Mark Miller (Canadian Identity and Culture, and Official Languages)
It only takes a minute. To make it easy, we’ve drafted a message that you can customize. By sending the letter from here, your message will also be sent to everyone listed above, to maximize the reach of your voice.