Conservation groups worry Carney's new nature strategy won't come with funding

The Carney government's strategy to protect nature is expected to be released in the coming weeks — and some nature advocacy groups worry it won't come with any new funding.

Billions of federal dollars earmarked for conservation are set to expire at the end of March. If they aren't renewed, the groups say Canada will not meet its 2030 targets.

For months, several national nature groups have been sounding the alarm that previous investments in biodiversity projects are in jeopardy. They tell CBC News they haven't received any assurances that long-term funding would be extended.

"We keep hearing the prime minister cares deeply about nature. And, you know, we're just not seeing the results of that," said Sandra Schwartz, the national executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Prime Minister Mark Carney ended the consumer carbon tax on his first day in office, and has since weakened the federal commitment to an oil and gas emissions cap, abandoned the Trudeau government's promise to plant two billion trees and ended the EV sales mandate.

"We recognize that it could seem very tone deaf right now, given what's happening geopolitically. But these are also commitments that are important to our long-term survivability as a species," said Schwartz, who is concerned that sustained federal nature funding is at risk.

The most recent wild species report compiled by federal, provincial and territorial government researchers warns that in Canada more than 2,000 plants, insects and mammals face a high risk of being wiped out.

More than 100 of those species can only be found in this country, including the Vancouver Island marmot, face the risk of being wiped out.

"The fact of the matter is that Canadian nature is in crisis and nature globally is in crisis," said David Wallis, a policy and campaign manager for reforestation with Nature Canada. 

"We are seeing the highest rates of extinction that we've seen since the dinosaurs, and that is happening as a result of human action."

Funding for projects meant to halt and reverse species loss is set to soon expire. The enhanced nature legacy program earmarked $2.3 billion over five years, ending March 31.

As The Hill Times recently reported, there was no mention of renewing the fund in the November federal budget and the main estimates tabled in February showed a sharp drop in conservation funding — from $953 million in 2025-26 to $366 million in 2026-27.

In the 2021 federal budget, the government also committed nearly $1 billion over five years for marine conservation.

CBC News reached out to Finance Canada for comment.