The fight against biodiversity loss and climate change starts with protecting nature. Investing in nature means helping to create a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient and sustainable environment. To halt the loss of biodiversity and restore Canada's natural environments, collaboration between the provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and other partners is essential.
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced up to $7.5 million in funding over the next five years through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. This funding will support 56 conservation projects across Canada, led by communities, individuals, and non-government organizations taking action to recover species at risk in their communities.
The Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk plays an important role in the implementation of the Species at Risk Act through the conservation of land-based species at risk. In Quebec, 12 projects will receive up to $1.5 million. The recipients include:
- Centre d'interprétation du milieu écologique du Haut-Richelieu is working to conserve land, mitigate forestry-related pressures, control invasive species, and protect species at risk, including the Chimney Swift, the Least Bittern, and White Wood Aster in Montérégie, Quebec.
- Saint-Lawrence Valley Natural History Society will implement various mitigation measures for existing road developments, such as exclusion walls, wildlife crossings, and shoulder modifications to reduce road mortality for certain species, creating safer habitat connectivity. The organization is also working to consolidate the protected areas network in the Shawinigan River watershed.
- Nature-Action Québec Inc. is working to expand existing habitat conservation and management across a larger area, including controlling invasive species and addressing predation of an endangered species in Montérégie, Quebec.
Protecting species and their habitats is critical, and by continuing to work closely with partners, the Government of Canada is making meaningful progress on this matter. The Government of Canada is undertaking the largest conservation campaign in Canadian history, backed by over $5 billion in investment, with the goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and protect 30 percent of land and water by 2030.
