Vancouver, British Columbia - The Government of Canada is investing in ocean protection to support responsible economic growth, protect marine ecosystems, strengthen marine safety and emergency preparedness, and advance reconciliation with First Nations. Canada's investments in West Coast energy, trade, and marine infrastructure will help create more resilient coastal communities and manage growing pressures on marine ecosystems, while supporting local economies. A stronger West Coast economy requires a strong ocean protection system, including investments in marine safety, Indigenous stewardship, whale and salmon recovery, spill preparedness, fisheries management, and ocean science.
Indigenous knowledge, leadership and partnerships are central to this work. The Government of Canada respects, appreciates, and relies on the traditional knowledge and expertise of Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities to better understand and protect our shared coasts and waterways. In British Columbia specifically, First Nations have consistently highlighted concerns about the cumulative impacts of increased vessel traffic on Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW), wild Pacific salmon, marine ecosystems, fisheries access, spill risk, and Section 35 Constitutional rights of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. These perspectives, and those of Indigenous Peoples across Canada, continue to inform Canada's approach to marine safety and environmental protection.
As vessel traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming decades on all coasts, Canada is also strengthening its capacity to prevent marine incidents and ship-source pollution, so we can respond quickly when incidents occur, and to protect and restore the marine environment. Canada's marine safety system is world-leading and continues to evolve to address emerging risks and keep pace with changing marine activity.
The Government of Canada is taking a comprehensive approach to these investments as we develop Canada's broader ocean strategy. As Canada builds the infrastructure to support economic growth and trade, it is also investing in the environmental safeguards, operational response capabilities, partnerships, and stewardship systems necessary to support that growth responsibly. The Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) remains the foundation of Canada's marine safety and environmental protection system. The Government of Canada is renewing funding for successful initiatives and programs, and investing in new initiatives that will strengthen marine navigation, marine emergency preparedness and response, remove hazardous vessels from our waters, restore aquatic habitats, expand Indigenous partnerships, and improve the resilience of coastal communities. These investments include:
1. Investing more than $740 million over the next four years to strengthen ocean conservation, including:
- Renewing several existing measures in the Oceans Protection Plan that advance marine science, protect ecosystems, and strengthen incident prevention and preparedness.
- Supporting Major Project Expansion on Canada's West Coast: In expectation of significant projected growth in marine shipping associated with major energy, Liquefied Natural Gas, port, and resource development projects on British Columbia's coast, the Canadian Coast Guard will enhance marine safety, security, environmental protection, and spill response readiness. This will be done through investments in Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) capacity, maritime domain awareness, vessel traffic management, Aids to Navigation, and marine environmental and hazards response capabilities. This will include new capacity to monitor marine traffic in MCTS Centres, enhancements to existing Search and Rescue stations to integrate marine response capabilities, and expansion of the Very High Frequency radio and radar network in areas where there is low coverage.
- Improving Prediction of Near-Shore Ocean Conditions for Incident Response with Integrated Marine Response Planning (IMRP): Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will develop a nearshore ocean modelling system that will create timely, targeted predictions of ocean conditions for planning and incident response related to major coastal infrastructure and development projects.
- Recovery from Environmental Emergencies: In collaboration with federal and Indigenous partners, Environment and Climate Change Canada will finalize tools to operationalize Environmental Recovery from Ship-source Marine Pollution Incidents, including spills of Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) and other high volume commercial chemicals with unknown environmental impact.
- Modernising Transport Canada's marine safety and oversight systems: Through this initiative, Transport Canada will replace outdated platforms used for cargo inspections, port state control, pleasure craft licensing, domestic vessel oversight, and seafarer certification. By establishing an integrated marine data foundation and digital service delivery model, the initiative will improve regulatory oversight, strengthen risk analysis and enforcement, enhance safety and environmental protection, and provide more efficient services to vessel operators, mariners, and training institutions as marine traffic continues to grow.
- Modernising Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) Conservation and Protection: Canada is strengthening the protection, conservation, and sustainable use of Canada's oceans and aquatic resources by modernising Canada's fisheries law enforcement. At DFO, Conservation and Protection (C&P) is the law enforcement arm responsible for safeguarding Canada's fish and fish habitat, protecting species at risk and marine ecosystems, and ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations that support healthy and sustainable oceans. This investment will enhance operational capabilities and modernise assets, better positioning our Conservation and Protection officers to respond to emerging risks, advance conservation objectives, support sustainable fisheries, and safeguard the long-term sustainability of Canada's ocean economy for future generations.
2. Investing $136 million over the next four years in initiatives that protect marine life and build on recent whale protection measures, including:
- Marine Mammal Spill Response: DFO will build upon existing investments in the Marine Mammal Response Program to establish an enhanced marine mammal spill response plan, supporting external partners to improve their readiness to spills, and standardizing protocols, training, and investing in equipment. This will strengthen readiness across the country, and ensure timely, effective protection of marine mammals and ecosystem recovery in the event of spill incidents that impact marine mammals.
- Expanding Ocean Noise Science and Management Across Canada's Oceans: DFO will advance new regionally-tailored initiatives to better understand and manage underwater noise in areas experiencing increased marine activity, including the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Building on ongoing work in the Pacific region, these efforts will assess local noise sources, improve understanding of impacts on marine species and habitats, and inform practical measures to reduce risks. The resulting science will support ecosystem protection, sustainable economic growth, and informed decision-making across the government as marine transportation and trade continue to expand across Canada's three oceans. Transport Canada (TC) will accelerate the transition of proven commercially available technologies from demonstration to widespread operation through a Quiet Vessel Technology Fund, with a focus on facilitating the SRKW protection efforts of the largest contributors to underwater noise in the Salish Sea, including ferries and tugs. Transport Canada will also work with partners in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to support quieter international shipping by measuring methods for vessel noise reduction.
- Assessing and Monitoring Underwater Noise Impacts on Marine Mammals in the Arctic: DFO will establish an Arctic underwater noise and marine mammal monitoring program to assess the impacts of increasing vessel traffic associated with major projects. The program will quantify current and future underwater noise levels in key major project areas within the Arctic, evaluate the effectiveness of various noise management measures in mitigating potential noise increases, and monitor marine mammals to assess responses to noise increases. The resulting science will help to accelerate major project reviews and inform regional and review planning and review processes.
3. Investing $186 million to strengthen Indigenous partnership and conservation efforts led by communities. This includes:
- The Northern Shelf Bioregion Reconciliation Framework Agreement (RFA): In line with a renewed OPP, Canada will support long-term ecosystem protection and sustainable management in true partnership with First Nations by expanding the Northern Shelf Bioregion Reconciliation Framework Agreement (RFA). Through a coordinated regional approach, the agreement will enable governments and Indigenous partners to continue to collaboratively address region-wide marine transportation challenges to mitigate environmental risks and strengthen long-term relationships.
- Investment in Indigenous-led stewardship, restoration and cumulative-effects management in the Lower Fraser River and estuary: The Government of Canada is currently negotiating an initiative to establish Indigenous-led stewardship, restoration, and cumulative effects management in the Lower Fraser River and estuary and other areas. This initiative would support long-term work to restore habitat, improve ecosystem health, and address the cumulative impacts of marine transportation, port expansion, energy infrastructure, and industrial development. By balancing environmental protection, reconciliation, and economic growth, the initiative would help advance major projects while ensuring the long-term sustainability of these strategically important waterways.
