Biodiversity

SHAPE of Nature: Provincial and Territorial Species at Risk Laws

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]

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This evaluation identifies the provinces and territories in Canada that have specific laws to protect species at risk and gaps in effective implementation.

Key points

• BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Yukon, and PEI still do not have dedicated species at risk legislation.
• 1999 is The last time Saskatchewan updated its list of species at risk.
• Manitoba is the only province or territory with a law that includes protection for endangered ecosystems

Abstract

Species at risk of extinction, also known as threatened or endangered species, represent those plants, animals, and other wildlife species that have not been adequately safeguarded through existing laws and policies against a myriad of threatening processes.

Accordingly, many nations have enacted laws that confer special attention to these species at risk that provide protections of varying strength to populations and their habitats (Ray et al. 2021). These laws often represent the last lines of defence in stopping extinction.

The federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) is intended to: 1) prevent wildlife species from being extirpated or becoming extinct, 2) provide for the recovery of wildlife species, and 3) prevent wild species becoming endangered or threatened. However, its automatic protections apply only to migratory birds, aquatic species, and species on federal lands. Hence, the primary responsibility for the protection of species at risk and their habitats in Canada is under provincial and territorial governments.

Many species that are listed by SARA are not listed in provincial and territorial species at risk legislation or wildlife laws.

In recognition of the incomplete coverage of legal safeguards across Canada, the federal government and all provinces and territories except Québec (and Nunavut, which did not yet exist), agreed to create consistent legislation for species at risk in a National Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (the ‘Accord’). in 1996. At that time, only Ontario (1971), New Brunswick (1973) and Manitoba (1990) had endangered species laws in place. Following the Accord, Nova Scotia (1998), Newfoundland and Labrador (2001) and Northwest Territories (2009) enacted new laws, and Ontario (2007) and New Brunswick (2013) replaced theirs with new acts.

To date, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, and PEI still do not have dedicated species at risk legislation. Of the two jurisdictions that did not sign the Accord in 1996, Québec has had a species at risk law in place since 1998, and Nunavut does not. Most provinces and territories that do not have dedicated species at risk laws have wildlife laws that give authority for protection of designated species at risk, although generally not for their habitats.

Recommended citation

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada] (2022). SHAPE of Nature: Provincial and Territorial Species at Risk Laws. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/shape-of-nature-provincial-and-territorial-species-at-risk-laws/