Healthy oceans are vital for the prosperity and well-being of people around the world, and they are an invaluable ally in the fight against climate change. That is why the Government of Canada is committed to the sustainable and equitable management of the world’s ocean resources and to ensuring the protection, conservation and restoration of our oceans for future generations.

“The world’s oceans are vital to the health of our environment and our economy. We must ensure that any development of ocean resources is science-aligned and conducted in adherence to rigorous regulatory requirements. In the absence of these key elements, Canada will not permit seabed mining in areas under its jurisdiction.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson

Minister of Natural Resources

“The ocean is critical to the resilience and well-being of coastal and Indigenous communities. Canada has made real progress in protecting the oceans, and that includes taking a strong stand in banning seabed mining in marine protected areas. We have a responsibility to protect nature and biodiversity and are delivering on this commitment.”

The Honourable Joyce Murray

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

“When Canada stepped up to host COP15, the largest biodiversity conference in world history, we played a leading role in getting countries to agree to protecting thirty percent of our lands and oceans by 2030. Protecting thirty percent of our oceans must be more than a slogan. The decisions we take today demonstrate our commitment. Concrete actions, including implementing the precautionary principle to withhold authorization of seabed mining projects in areas of national jurisdiction, say very clearly: this is how we maintain healthy ocean ecosystems for generations to come.”

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

• Seabed mining is the exploration and exploitation of minerals, aggregates or any other inorganic matter from the seabed and its subsoil.

• In April 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced its new protection standard for new federal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The MPA Protection Standard is a federal baseline of a common set of activities that are prohibited or further restricted. Further prohibitions may apply according to each MPA law.

• Yesterday, on February 8, 2023, during IMPAC5, Canada unveiled proposed new sites being pursued for marine conservation targets, as well as further details related to its MPA Protection Standard. MPAs contribute to a healthy marine environment and offer a nature-based solution to address the impacts of climate change by protecting marine ecosystems, their habitats and species.

• Canada is a member of the International Seabed Authority Council and is actively engaged in the negotiations on seabed mineral exploitation regulations. Made up of 167 Member States, and the European Union, the International Seabed Authority is mandated under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of humankind as a whole.

• Mineral exploration and exploitation do not currently occur in existing federal marine protected areas, and the Government’s 2019 MPA Protection Standard prohibits mining in future federal MPAs.

Associated links

• Statement on Seabed Mining
• Government of Canada on track to meet its 2025 and 2030 Marine Conservation Targets
• Countries Commit to the Sustainable Development and Sourcing of Critical Minerals
• Oceans Protection Plan
• Marine Protected Areas across Canada
• Establishing new Marine Protected Areas
• National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards
• IMPAC5

Natural Resources Canada
Media Relations
343-292-6100
media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Keean Nembhard

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Natural Resources

613-323-7892

keean.nembhard@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca