Threatened and Endangered Species

Every year, more of Canada’s animals and plants are threatened by extinction.

Today, there are 650 endangered species at risk in Canada.

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The Underlying Threat: Addressing Subsurface Threats in Environment Canada's Protected Areas
Executive Summary

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According to the scientific Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada there are 650 endangered speices. The most recent threatened or endangered animal species, added in November 2011, include:

Yellow-breasted Chat virens subspecies. The Ontario population of this Endangered bright yellow warbler consists of 30-60 pairs that breed in dense thickets, habitat which continues to decline due to reforestation and development.

Collared Pika. More than half of the global population of this pint-sized relative of rabbits and hares occurs in Canada. The negative impacts of climate change on its habitat in western British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories resulted in a designation of Special Concern.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog. Confined to only twelve square kilometers of grassland habitat in Saskatchewan, this mammal is threatened by drought that is expected to increase due to climate change. This factor, in addition to a bacterial disease that is expected to cause significant population declines, resulted in an assessment of Threatened.

Coastal Tailed Frog. Inhabiting cold, clear streams along the mountainous coast of British Columbia, this amphibian thrives under the cover of old-growth forests, which continues to decline due to logging and other industrial activities. Its vulnerability to the effects of human activity and climate change resulted in an assessment of Special Concern.

Extinction Threats are Growing

Many scientists believe that the rate of loss is greater now than at any time in history.

Most scientists agree that human activity is causing rapid deterioration in biodiversity. The loss of critical wildlife habitat, from expanding human settlements, logging, mining, agriculture and pollution are destroying ecosystems, upsetting nature's balance and driving many species to extinction.

For roughly 75 per cent of endangered species, the loss and degradation of their habitat is the central cause of their declining numbers. Illegal poaching and the growing effects of climate change are also threats that species face every day.

Nature Canada’s Endangered Species Program

Nature Canada is working to reverse this trend by informing the public about the plight of Canada’s threatened wildlife, pushing for effective laws and supporting programs to protect endangered species and their habitats.

Nature Canada led a multi-year Endangered Species Campaign involving NGO and government stakeholders to establish federal endangered species legislation. As a member of the Species at Risk Working Group we helped secure the passage of the federal Species at Risk Act in 2003.

Under the Act, the federal government is obligated to work to rebuild threatened or endangered species populations and take action to prevent relatively common species from facing further risk.

Unfortunately Canada is failing to fulfill its duty of care toward our nation’s wildlife.

Key weaknesses in the Act’s implementation have left many plant and animal species at continued risk of extinction. Nature Canada is focusing on getting the federal government to live up to its obligations under the legislation, and ensure that Canada’s plant and animal populations do not continue to decline.

In 2009, Nature Canada released a report card on the government's performance in implementing the Act. In the report, a failing grade is assessed twice: first for failing to take measures to protect the habitat of at-risk species, and again for refusing to ever employ the federal "safety net," which is meant to protect SARA-listed species under provinical jurisdiction when provincial governments fail to protect them.