This follows earlier bilateral Nature Agreements between the federal government and the governments of British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Yukon.

This latest agreement will invest $7 million dollars this year, and up to $20 million over the next 10 years, in protecting nature in the Northwest Territories. In particular, it will support Indigenous-led conservation and will protect species at risk, including barren-ground caribou and wood bison.

The agreement builds on the Project Finance for Permanence Conservation agreement, “NWT: Our Land for the Future”, which was co-led by 22 Indigenous Governments and organizations in the Northwest Territories. It also helps implement Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy.

“This is a critical moment in fulfilling Canada’s pledge to protect thirty per cent of our lands and waters by 2030,” said Julia Laforge, Nature Canada’s Protected Areas Policy Manager. “Our natural heritage is a core part of our identity as Canadians. We owe it to ourselves to protect nature today, as we owe it to future generations to preserve nature for them.”

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