Canada and Quebec sign historic agreement to protect and conserve nature

Press Release

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

March 10, 2025

Protecting nature is one of the most effective strategies for adapting to climate change, halting biodiversity loss, and ensuring a healthy and resilient environment for communities across Canada. It is a collective challenge that requires collaboration between all levels of government, Indigenous peoples, and other parties such as industries and municipalities. This is why the governments of Canada and Quebec are committed to working together to protect biodiversity in Quebec while building a strong, sustainable economy.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the signing of a Canada-Quebec agreement to advance the protection and conservation of nature throughout Quebec. The Government of Canada will invest up to $100 million between now and 2027 to support the objectives of Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan and Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy.

This nature agreement reflects both governments’ commitment to implementing the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework and establishes a series of objectives to achieve this:

• Create and expand protected and conserved areas, and accelerate the conservation of natural environments on private land in southern Quebec, including through the implementation of urban park projects.
• Take action to address threats to biodiversity, better protect threatened or vulnerable species, and foster the recovery of at-risk species.
• Control invasive alien species.
• Support Indigenous leadership in biodiversity conservation.

This investment is in addition to the $125 million that the Government of Canada has invested in conservation in Quebec since 2018, including $42 million for the 2024–2025 fiscal year. As part of the 2 Billion Trees Program, the Government of Canada is also committed to investing $220 million to reforest nearly 50,000 hectares of land in Quebec.

The Government of Canada also remains committed to supporting the Government of Quebec in its work to conserve the boreal caribou and restore its habitat. This could include additional targeted funding. The federal government’s preferred approach has always been one of collaboration. It acknowledges Quebec’s efforts to deploy regional caribou conservation plans and implement measures to ensure the boreal caribou’s recovery in Quebec.

This species cannot be protected without the input and involvement of Indigenous peoples, for whom it carries great cultural and historical significance. This is why the Government of Canada is committed to continuing to include Indigenous communities in discussions on the conservation of the boreal caribou and to supporting them in their efforts to protect the species.

Quotes

“Quebec is home to majestic landscapes and a unique variety of species and habitats. Our government is committed to protecting biodiversity across Canada and halting the deterioration of our nature legacy. With investments of more than $12 billion since 2015, our government has led the largest campaign in Canadian history for nature conservation and climate solutions. The provinces play a key role in achieving our nature conservation goals, and this historic agreement will bolster Quebec’s conservation efforts. We are also committed to working with Indigenous communities to implement this agreement. By protecting nature today, we can pass on a more sustainable, resilient world to future generations.”

– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Quick facts

• The Canada-Quebec Nature Agreement adds to a series of similar collaborations already in place across Canada, including with the governments of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, and with the First Nations Leadership Council. There is also a memorandum of understanding on a nature agreement with Manitoba.
• In response to the adoption of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Quebec presented its 2030 Nature Plan. This plan led to the 2024–2028 Action Plan, along with an investment of $922 million over the first five years (2023–2024 to 2027–2028).
• The Government of Canada is also committed to paying the Government of Quebec a total of $220 million under the 2 Billion Trees Program. This will enhance reforestation efforts and lead to the planting of more than 100 million trees in public and private forests by 2030–2031. Nearly 50,000 hectares of land in total will be reforested in Quebec, including areas that have been devastated by wildfires or spruce budworm and abandoned sites such as sand pits and wastelands.
• In 2024, Quebec’s network of protected areas covered more than 250,000 km², or about 17% of its terrestrial area and a little more than 10% of its marine and coastal environments.
• Since 2016, the Government of Canada has made unprecedented investments to protect land, species, and biodiversity in Canada, in particular by injecting more than a billion dollars in the Nature Legacy initiative and $2.3 billion in Budget 2021.
• Nearly a third of the federal funding provided under this agreement is aimed at supporting Indigenous leadership in biodiversity conservation.

Related products

• Financial support agreement for Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan and Quebec’s implementation of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework in Quebec

Associated links

• Nature agreements in Canada
• Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy: Halting and Reversing Biodiversity Loss in Canada
• Government of Quebec 2030 Nature Plan
• Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework
• Federal Investment Contributes to the Planting of 500,000 Trees in Montréal

Contacts

Hermine Landry
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
873-455-3714
Hermine.Landry@ec.gc.ca

Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca

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