Ministerial statement on provincial and territorial protection on nature collaboration ahead of COP15

August 30, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, issued the following statement in response to the work by provinces and territories to protect nature and biodiversity.

“Protecting the species and natural spaces that Canadians love is important for communities from coast to coast to coast and for our whole planet. It is foundational to our efforts to combat the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

“Today, I am extending an invitation to all my provincial and territorial counterparts to join me as part of the Canadian delegation at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity this December.

“I am also calling on them to join me in publicly supporting our ambitious goals to protect nature and biodiversity with continuing contributions from within their own jurisdictions. I have proposed we host a virtual meeting this fall to collaborate on the advancement of our shared goals ahead of COP15.

“COP15 will be a landmark event for Canada, with thousands of delegates representing countries from around the world assembled and ready to commit to taking action to protect nature.

“The Government of Canada has pledged to protect 25 percent of land and waters in Canada by 2025 and, along with nearly one hundred other countries, including its North American partners, the United States and Mexico, is supporting an ambitious but achievable global target to conserve 30 percent by 2030. With 640 at-risk species in Canada and many of our wildlife populations in decline, we are committed to halting and reversing biodiversity loss in Canada by 2030.

“We need all the provinces and territories to rally behind these goals, and I congratulate those that have already committed their support.

“At the federal level, we have launched the greatest conservation campaign in the country’s history, fuelled by multibillion-dollar investments available to the provinces and territories. We are collaborating on the protection of iconic species. We have gone from 1 percent to 14 percent of oceans protected and have made good progress on expanding our network of protected areas on land. We need a truly national effort supported by all the provinces and territories and in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.

“Nature knows no boundaries—not local, not provincial or territorial, and not international. We are all in this together.”