Iqaluit, Nunavut - Oceans connect us and bind us together, reminding us that we are part of an interconnected web that goes beyond national jurisdictions. Respecting our oceans doesn't just support resilient marine ecosystems, it helps to secure the future of coastal communities.
Today, Madame Diana Fox Carney, Canada's Ocean Envoy and Chair of the 12th Our Ocean Conference (OOC), concluded a visit to Canada's Arctic where she met with Inuit leaders, local partners, and students training for careers in fisheries and marine operations at the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium. Discussions focused on the importance of Northern perspectives on marine conservation, fisheries, economic development, and climate resilience, as well as opportunities to advance Indigenous leadership through the Our Ocean Conference.
Building on these conversations, Mme. Fox Carney is pleased to announce the first-ever Global Indigenous Summit, to be held on May 9, 2027, alongside the Our Ocean Conference. The Summit will bring together Indigenous Peoples from around the world to exchange Indigenous knowledge and discuss shared priorities for the future of ocean stewardship, conservation, and blue finance. To ensure Indigenous leadership will be at the centre of this work, the Ocean Envoy will work closely with the Right Honourable Mary Simon, the Former Governor General of Canada. Her leadership role will be critical to the success of this Summit.
Today, the Honourable Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries, the Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, and the Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature) also announced two new commitments towards advancing its goal of conserving 30 per cent of Canada's ocean by 2030, and building on A Force of Nature: Canada's Strategy to Protect Nature.
First, the government announced its commitment to protect an additional three per cent of Canada's marine and ocean areas by the end of 2027. With the longest coastline in the world, this will result in over 170,000 km2 in additional protected area, bringing over 20 per cent of Canada's ocean waters under protection. Canada will invite international partners to demonstrate similar ambition and action at the 12th Our Ocean Conference in Halifax.
Second, as host of the 12th Our Ocean Conference, Canada will work with global partners to accelerate blue finance, including innovative financial mechanisms that help direct capital toward resilient coastal communities and healthy ocean ecosystems. As part of this commitment, Canada will work with Indigenous communities in the Arctic to establish up to two new conservation agreements, drawing on long-term financing models such as Project Finance for Permanence to support enduring conservation outcomes and community-led stewardship.
In recognition of the importance of the Arctic Ocean, Canada will also advance initiatives, in partnership with other Arctic states and Indigenous Peoples, to further strengthen Arctic governance, including in the Central Arctic Ocean.
We know that public funding alone cannot meet the scale of the challenge. By bringing together governments, philanthropy and the private sector, and by building long-term predictable funding, we can ensure that conservation and the communities that steward the ocean are supported for generations to come.
