Area-Based Marine Protection in Canada

Over the past few years, Canada has achieved significant progress in its efforts to meet its international and domestic commitments to area-based marine protection. It has now extended protections, in some form, to almost eight per cent of its coastal and ocean waters. However, critical issues remain concerning implementation. This article describes and critically analyses Canada’s progress on area-based marine protection in view of international principles, standards, and criteria. It provides an overview of the broader jurisdictional, legislative, and policy framework for area-based marine protection, before outlining the key federal legislative schemes that form Canada’s marine protected areas (mpas) network. It also discusses provincial (subnational) area-based marine protection, as well as new initiatives to establish offshore Indigenous protected and conserved areas, and highlights cooperative arrangements made with other states. Finally, it provides some future outlooks for area-based marine protection in Canada.