New $3.8 billion federal nature strategy creates Arctic Indigenous Guardians Program

Indigenous-led conservation work will be expanded by Ottawa with an investment of over $230 million to expand the Indigenous Guardians Program to establish a new Arctic Indigenous Guardians Program.

Included in a new $3.8 billion federal nature strategy announced on Tuesday called A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature, an Arctic Indigenous Guardians Program will enable better monitoring, land stewardship, and conservation leadership in Indigenous communities, while creating high-quality careers, stated a release.

Another feature to the new strategy impacting the Northwest Territories is a $90 million investment into the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site Action Plan.

This collaborative effort with Indigenous peoples and the governments of Alberta and the Northwest Territories will support the recovery of wood bison populations.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty stated in a release that, “protecting nature and advancing reconciliation go hand in hand. By investing in the Indigenous Guardians Program, we are expanding Indigenous-led conservation efforts and creating good-paying jobs and greater economic opportunities.

The NWT’s sole MP continued: “This is how we protect the lands and waters people depend on while also building stronger, more sustainable communities.”

BY THE NUMBERS:

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Canada is home to 20% of the world’s total freshwater, 37% of the world’s lakes, 25% of the world’s wetlands, 24% of the world’s boreal forests, the world’s longest coastline, and one of the world’s largest marine territories.

It also provides essential habitat for approximately 80,000 species.

The federal government administers 6% of the land in Canada, of which 4.7% is protected. Provinces and territories manage 76% of the land, Indigenous Peoples 6%, and private owners 12%.

In the marine environment, the federal government has primary control, managing environmental protection in collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples.
The federal government’s nature agreements with partners such as British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council, Québec, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest

Territories, and Indigenous governments are already helping identify and conserve areas rich in biodiversity, while supporting local communities.

BACKGROUND ON THE NATURE AGREEMENT:

The Canada–Northwest Territories Nature Agreement, signed by both parties in February 2025, sets out target outcomes and commitments which include:

• Ongoing collaboration with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations in Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship initiatives in the Northwest Territories, such as Northwest Territories Our Land for the Future agreement, based on the Finance for Permanence model;
• Advancing the protection and conservation of up to six per cent of the territory by 2028, with further potential of up to 3.6% by 2035;
• Advancing the protection of critical habitat and adoption of land use planning measures to improve outcomes for species at risk and migratory birds; and more.

NWT: Our Land for the Future is an Indigenous-led initiative in the Northwest Territories (NWT) that supports conservation and stewardship of lands and inland waters.

It is one of the largest Indigenous-led land conservation initiatives in the world. Signed in July 2025, this historic grant agreement brings together 21 Indigenous governments
and organizations, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and philanthropic partners.

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With total investments of $375 million, including $300 million from Canada and $75 million from philanthropic partners, NWT: Our Land for the Future supports Indigenous-led stewardship and conservation across some of the world’s most intact boreal and tundra ecosystems while creating hundreds of good, culturally meaningful jobs across
the territory.

NWT: Our Land for the Future aims to conserve at least 2% of Canada’s terrestrial conservation targets, working towards up to 3% (380,000 sq.kms.).

The new $3.8 billion strategy called A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature: Nature Vision Document_EN_v10