On the Path to 2030
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society | 2025
CPAWS is taking the Government of Canada and Canadian provinces and territories to school! Our new report, On the Path to 2030: A Report Card on Progress to Protect Land and Ocean Across Canada, is shedding light on which provinces and territories are sitting at the head of the class, which need improvement and who needs to sign up for summer school.
Welcome to Canada’s 2025 conservation report card, your comprehensive guide to understanding our nation’s progress toward protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. This ambitious target, as part of the global Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework known as the “30×30” initiative, represents a commitment to safeguarding Canada’s natural heritage, ensuring healthy ecosystems, and addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
About the Report Card
This conservation-focused report card evaluates Canada’s progress toward the 30×30 goal, highlighting successes, identifying gaps, and offering a roadmap for future action. It provides a snapshot of:
- Protected Areas: The percentage of land and marine areas currently protected and opportunities to expand protection across provinces and territories.
- Indigenous Leadership: How Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are driving conservation efforts.
- Federal and Provincial Actions: Key milestones achieved, funding allocated, and policies implemented.
- Challenges Ahead: Barriers to achieving the target, including resource constraints and conflicting land-use priorities.
When Nature Thrives, So Do We – Why 30×30 Matters
Canada is home to some of the world’s most iconic and ecologically vital landscapes. From the sprawling boreal forests and majestic Rocky Mountains to the vast wetlands and vibrant marine ecosystems, our natural spaces are not only treasures of immense beauty but also critical to sustaining life. Protecting 30% of our lands and waters is essential to:
- Preserve biodiversity by safeguarding habitats for wildlife and plants.
- Combat climate change through carbon sequestration in forests, wetlands, and oceans and protecting vast stores of carbon.
- Support Indigenous leadership and reconciliation through co-managed protected areas.
- Ensure access to nature for future generations to enjoy and benefit from.
How You Can Get Involved
Achieving the 30×30 target requires collective action. Here’s how you can contribute:
- Support Conservation Efforts: Your support makes it possible for us to continue to protect nature in Canada.
- Vote for Nature: When there are federal, provincial or municipal elections vote for parties that prioritize nature in their platforms!
- Engage Locally: Participate in public consultations and advocate for the protection of natural spaces in your community.
- Learn and Share: Educate yourself and others about the importance of conservation and the role we all play in preserving Canada’s natural heritage.
Dive into the full report or check out the summary to uncover the story behind Canada’s journey toward 30×30. See where progress has been made, understand the challenges we face, and discover the opportunities that lie ahead.
Together, we can protect Canada’s natural spaces for generations to come.
Corrections:
Page 71: Error on table: The text that is listed with Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Park – East Expansion (32), “this protected area has been awaiting Order in Council since 2012” should instead refer to Gipsy Gordon Wildland Provincial Park Expansion (31).