Parks Canada’s 2025 to 2026 Departmental Plan

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services

• Core responsibility 1: Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage
• Internal services

Core responsibility 1: Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Key risks
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Establish national parks and national marine conservation areas; designate places, persons, and events of national historic significance; protect and conserve natural and cultural heritage guided by science and Indigenous knowledge; provide opportunities to visit, experience and enjoy Canada’s natural and cultural heritage; and work with the public, other federal departments, provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders to carry out these responsibilities.

Quality of life impacts

Parks Canada’s core responsibility contributes to several domains in the Quality of Life Framework for Canada. With its park expansion and establishment program for new national parks and national marine conservation areas, the designation of new national urban parks, and the protection and conservation of natural environments, Parks Canada contributes to the Environment domain. It also does this through the protection of ecosystems that provide services such as air and water quality, climate change adaptation, conserved areas, species-at-risk work, and conserving natural capital in terrestrial, marine, and coastal environments. Parks Canada has its own indicators related to ecological integrity and tracks the establishment of new heritage places for Departmental Result 1 below.

Parks Canada’s core responsibility also contributes to the Good Governance domain. The sphere of Indigenous self-determination is represented through work to protect and conserve natural and cultural heritage guided by science and Indigenous knowledge, through establishing co-operative management agreements with Indigenous partners for protected national heritage areas, and through honouring and supporting Indigenous stewardship in natural and cultural heritage conservation. Parks Canada measures confidence in institutions through annual surveys of public support for its mandate. It also makes important contributions to international science, heritage networks and non-government organizations, contributing to Canada’s reputation and Canada’s place in the world. Results, indicators, and targets related to this domain can be seen in departmental results 1, 2, and 3 below.

Finally, through presentation of natural and cultural heritage, Parks Canada also contributes to Prosperity, Health, and Society domains. From its operations of heritage places coast to coast, Parks Canada directly contributes to Prosperity by providing employment, including youth employment, particularly in rural areas, and through rural spending. It also contributes to rural economies through direct and indirect tourism spending. The availability and accessibility of these places for Canadians also contributes to Health, as the benefits from participating in physical activities and being in nature have proven ties to physical and mental health. Those benefits are both at an individual and a societal level, contributing to reducing costs to Canada’s health care system.

At the Society level, the protected areas Parks Canada has a role in administering create a sense of pride and belonging to a community through Canadians participating in visitor activities offered by Parks Canada, both within places it administers and activities it hosts outside of them. Parks Canada also offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities and provides positive representation of Canadian diversity, and access/exposure to Indigenous languages. Result 3 outlines the number of visitors enjoying cultural and natural visitor experiences as well as the number of places where Indigenous peoples use land and waters according to their traditional and modern practices. Measures for the other Quality of Life Framework implications are in currently in development.

With the emphasis upon the important relationship between social, environmental, and economic sustainability, Parks Canada’s 2023 to 2027 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy provides a more comprehensive picture of Parks Canada’s span of work and how it contributes to social, environmental, and economic sustainability and improves the quality of life for of all Canadians.

Indicators, results and targets

This section presents details on the department’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, and the targets and target dates approved in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 for Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage. Details are presented by departmental result.

Tables 1-3 provide a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage.

Table 1: Departmental result 1: Canada’s natural heritage is protected for present and future generations

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual results	Target	Date to achieve target
Percentage of terrestrial regions represented in the national park system	2021-22: 79% 2022-23: 79% 2023-24: 79%	At least 82%	March 2026
Percentage of marine regions represented in the national marine conservation area system	2021-22: 21% 2022-23: 21% 2023-24: 21%	At least 31%	March 2026
Percentage of national park ecosystems where ecological integrity is maintained or improved	2021-22: 79% 2022-23: 79% 2023-24: 80%	At least 92%	December 2025
Number of natural heritage places managed cooperatively with Indigenous peoples	2021-22: 22 2022-23: 22 2023-24: 23	At least 27	March 2026

Table 2: Departmental result 2: Canada’s cultural heritage is protected for present and future generations

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual results	Target	Date to achieve target
Number of persons, places and events of importance to Canadians that are formally recognized	2021-22: 3,862 2022-23: 3,934 2023-24: 3,950	At least 3,955	March 2026
Percentage of the historical and archaeological collection, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites in Parks Canada’s care that are safeguarded	2021-22: 68% 2022-23: 68% 2023-24: 68%	At least 90%	March 2026
Number of cultural heritage places managed cooperatively with Indigenous peoples	2021-22: 5 2022-23: 7 2023-24: 8	At least 15	March 2026
Percentage of heritage assets in good or fair condition	2021-22: 58% 2022-23: 61% 2023-24: 58%	At least 47%	March 2028

Table 3: Departmental result 3: People connect to and experience Canada’s natural and cultural heritage in ways that are meaningful to them

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual results	Target	Date to achieve target
Number of visitors experiencing Parks Canada places	2021‑22: 21.6 million 2022‑23: 22.5 million 2023‑24: 23.7 million	At least 23.7 million	March 2026
Percentage of Canadians that support the protection and presentation of Parks Canada places	2021-22: 92% 2022-23: 92% 2023-24: 93%	At least 78%	March 2026
Number of places where Indigenous peoples use land and waters according to their traditional and modern practices	2021-22: 36 2022-23: 39 2023-24: 48	At least 42	March 2026
Percentage of contemporary assets in good or fair condition	2021-22: 74% 2022-23: 77% 2023-24: 77%	At least 49%	March 2028

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for Parks Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

The following section describes the planned results for Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage in fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Departmental result 1: Canada’s natural heritage is protected for present and future generations

Expanding protection of natural environments

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Percentage of terrestrial regions represented in the national park system	At least 82%	March 2026
Percentage of marine regions represented in the national marine conservation area system	At least 31%	March 2026

In collaboration with Indigenous partners, stakeholders, and other levels of government, Parks Canada is an important contributor to the Government of Canada’s commitment to halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Currently, 48 national parks, including 11 national park reserves, and one national urban park, protect approximately 343,377 square kilometres of Canada’s lands. Parks Canada is also responsible for five national marine conservation areas that protect approximately 123,490 square kilometres of Canada’s marine and freshwater ecosystems in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans and the Great Lakes.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will continue to support the Government of Canada’s commitment to protect Canada's natural legacy, working towards conserving 30% of Canada’s land and oceans by 2030, as well as its direction to establish 10 new national parks, 10 new national marine conservation areas, and 15 national urban parks by 2030. Expansion of the national park and national marine conservation area systems as well as the creation of new national urban parks will continue to make a meaningful contribution towards the government’s goals of conservation, Indigenous reconciliation, and rural economic development.

Parks Canada has adjusted its target date to March 2026 for the percentage of terrestrial regions represented in the national park system plan to align with the timeline for new national park establishment projects under Budget 2021 Enhanced Nature Legacy funding.

Parks Canada has also adjusted its target date to March 2026 for the percentage of marine regions represented in the national marine conservation area system to align with the timeline for new national marine conservation area establishment projects under Budget 2021 Marine Conservation Target funding.

In support of these goals, Parks Canada, during the planning period, will:

• work towards the establishment of new national parks and national park reserves by negotiating an establishment agreement for the proposal in the South Okanagan-Similkameen (BC), completing the feasibility assessments in the Seal River Watershed and Manitoba Lowlands (MB), and the Peel River Watershed and Ross River (YT) regions, and working towards at least three new feasibility assessments in locations across Canada (see National park and national park reserve establishment activities planned for fiscal year 2025 to 2026)
• consult and cooperate with Indigenous governments, organizations, and communities, along with provincial and territorial governments, and develop strategic partnerships with stakeholders in the process to establish new national parks and national marine conservation areas
• work with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments to identify and advance national marine conservation area (NMCA) proposals, including Pemsik (NS), Mingan-Anticosti (QC), western Hudson Bay (MB) and Pacific Rim (BC), as well one freshwater location in the Northwest Territories
• advance feasibility assessments, including consultations with key partners, towards the establishment of new NMCAs in les Iles de la Madeleine (QC), southern Strait of Georgia (BC), and South Coast Fjords (NL)
• Parks Canada will also work with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments to identify and advance additional NMCA proposals, including Pemsik (NS), western Hudson Bay (MB) and Pacific Rim (BC)
• advance negotiations for establishment agreements in eastern James Bay (QC), northern Labrador coast (NL), western James Bay and southwestern Hudson Bay (ON), and the central coast (BC), as well as for the expansion of the Saguenay – St. Lawrence Marine Park (QC) (see National marine conservation area establishment activities planned for fiscal year 2025 to 2026)
• communicate and promote Parks Canada’s new National Urban Parks Policy to guide the designation and management of new national urban parks across Canada that will conserve nature, connect people with nature, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
• explore opportunities and advance planning for new national urban parks and lay a foundation for a national urban parks network across Canada
• work towards the designation of four to six national urban parks by December 2025 across the country (Victoria, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Windsor, Halifax) and advance two more sites (St. John’s, Winnipeg)
• promote the use of the newly released criteria and map of national priority areas for Ecological Corridors in Canada as tools to support efforts to achieve a well-connected network of protected areas and natural habitat across Canada
• provide support to 10 environmental non-for-profit organization-led, one provincially led and seven Indigenous-led ecological corridor projects

National park and national park reserve establishment activities planned for fiscal year 2025 to 2026

Proposed national park or national park reserve	Actions in 2025 to 2026	Key partners
South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve (BC)	Complete negotiation of a federal – provincial – First Nation establishment agreement that will confirm a final boundary, federal investments, and a governance approach to the management of the national park reserve.	The Government of British Columbia and Sylix First Nations
Seal River Watershed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA)/ National Park Reserve (MB)	Complete work on feasibility assessment and advance to negotiation of establishment agreement.	The Government of Manitoba and the Seal River Watershed Alliance (representing Sayisi Dene First Nation, Northlands Dene Nation, Barren Lands First Nation, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation)
Manitoba Lowlands IPCA/ National Park Reserve (MB)	Advance work on feasibility assessments and advance to negotiation of establishment agreements.	The Government of Manitoba and Misipawistik Cree Nation
Peel River Watershed National Park (YT)	Complete work on feasibility assessments and advance to negotiation of establishment agreement.	The Government of Yukon, Gwich’in Tribal Council, First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun
Ross River IPCA / National Park Reserve (YT)	Advance work on feasibility assessments and advance to negotiation of establishment agreements.	Government of Yukon, Ross River Dena Council
Three New Terrestrial Protected Area Projects	Work towards initiation of at least three new feasibility assessments in locations across Canada.	Indigenous Nations and provincial/territorial governments

Table 5: National marine conservation area establishment activities planned for fiscal year 2025 to 2026

Proposed national marine conservation area	Actions in 2025 to 2026	Key partners
Proposed National Marine Conservation Area in Pemsik (NS)	Initiate a feasibility assessment.	Government of Nova Scotia, First Nations.
Proposed national marine conservation area in Western Hudson Bay (MB)	Initiate a feasibility assessment	Government of Manitoba, Town of Churchill and local First Nations and Metis.
Proposed national marine conservation area in Pacific Rim (BC)	Initiate a feasibility assessment	9 First Nations and the Government of British Columbia
Proposed Marine Protected Area in Mingan-Anticosti (QC)	Initiate a feasibility assessment.	The Government of Quebec, First Nations, and local Communities.
Proposed National Marine Conservation Area (freshwater) at Great Slave Lake (NT)	Identify a freshwater location	The Government of Northwest Territories, Łútsël K'é Dene First Nation
Proposed marine protected area in Îles de la Madeleine (QC)	Continue work on a feasibility assessment	The Government of Quebec, First Nations and local communities
Proposed national marine conservation area reserve in the Southern Strait of Georgia (BC)	Continue towards the possible establishment of a NMCA	11 First Nations and the Government of British Columbia
Proposed national marine conservation area in the South Coast Fjords (NL)	Continue work on feasibility assessment.	Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Town of Burgeo, Qalipu First Nation, Miawpukek First Nation.
Proposed national marine conservation area in Eastern James Bay (QC)	Continue negotiations on an establishment agreement following the completion of a feasibility assessment in October 2024.	The Cree Nation Government, Government of Nunavut and Government of Quebec
Proposed national marine conservation area and Inuit Protected Area on the Northern Labrador Coast (NL)	Continue negotiations on an establishment agreement following the completion of a feasibility assessment in March 2024.	Nunatsiavut Government, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Makivik Corporation
Proposed national marine conservation area in Western James Bay and Southwestern Hudson Bay (ON)	Continue negotiations on an establishment agreement with the Mushkegowuk Council following the completion of a feasibility assessment in February 2024.	Mushkegowuk Council, the Government of Ontario
Proposed national marine conservation area reserve on the Central Coast of British Columbia (BC)	Continue negotiations on an establishment agreement following the completion of a feasibility assessment in August 2024.	Heiltsuk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Nuxalk, Wuikinuxv, Gitga’at and Gitxaala Nations, and the Government of British Columbia.
Proposed expansion of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park (QC)	Consult Indigenous nations, stakeholders, and the public; Advance expansion of Saguenay – St. Lawrence Marine Park.	The Government of Quebec, First Nations, and local Communities.
Proposed Tuvaijuittuq National Marine Conservation Area adjacent to Ellesmere Island (NU)	Continue to work with partners for the long-term strategy for protection of this site.	Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Government of Nunavut and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association

Table 6: National urban park designation activities planned for fiscal year 2025 to 2026

Proposed national urban park	Actions in 2025 to 2026	Key partners
Proposed National Urban Park in St. John’s (NL)	Start work on pre-feasibility assessment.	City of St. John’s
Proposed National Urban Park in Winnipeg (MB)	Continue work on pre-feasibility assessment, initiate park planning activities with partners.	City of Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba, Treaty One Nations, Manitoba Métis Federation.
Proposed National Urban Park in Halifax (NS)	Undertake park planning and park implementation activities with partners.	Halifax Regional Municipality, Province of Nova Scotia, Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn, Sipekne’katik First Nation, Nova Scotia Nature Trust.
Proposed National Urban Park in the Edmonton Region (AB)	Undertake park planning activities with partners.	City of Edmonton, Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, Otipemisiwak Métis Government (Métis Nation of Alberta), Province of Alberta.
Proposed National Urban Park in the Greater Victoria Region (BC)	Undertake park planning activities with partners	Esquimalt First Nation, Te’mexw Treaty Association (Scia’new First Nation, Songhees Nation, & T’Sou-ke Nation), City of Colwood.
Proposed National Urban Park in the Saskatoon Region (SK)	Complete planning phase activities with partners.	Meewasin Valley Authority, Province of Saskatchewan, City of Saskatoon, RM of Corman Park, Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, University of Saskatchewan, Partnership for Growth.
Proposed National Urban Park in Windsor (ON)	Complete planning phase activities with partners.	Caldwell First Nation, Walpole Island First Nation, Chippewas of the Thames First Nations, City of Windsor, Town of Lasalle, Province of Ontario, Hydro One.

North American collaboration on protected areas

The North American Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation for Protected Areas Conservation (NAPA) engages the seven largest North American land and resource conservation agencies, which together manage 15% of the North America’s landmass.

NAPA member agencies recognize that protected areas play a critical role in conserving biodiversity and supporting human health and well-being. Protected areas provide recreation, education, and research opportunities and support the economy by providing resource benefits, ecosystem services, tourism destinations, and ecological resilience.

In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, Parks Canada will chair the committee and guide the delivery of shared priorities, overseeing the advancement of NAPA’s work plan. This collaboratively developed plan promotes the exchange of best practices and the development of innovative solutions for the effective management of protected areas. Priority areas of work include Indigenous stewardship of protected areas, ecosystem monitoring, ecosystem valuation, bison and grassland conservation, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

 

Effectively managing natural environments

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Percentage of national park ecosystems where ecological integrity is maintained or improved	92%	December 2025

National parks and national marine conservation areas are beautiful and inspiring places that protect nationally significant examples of Canada’s ecosystems. Parks Canada’s mandate and first priority is to maintain or improve the ecological integrity of national parks. Ecosystems have ecological integrity when their components, such as native species, biological communities, natural landscapes, and ecological functions, are intact and are likely to persist.

Monitoring results in recent years indicate that large-scale threats, such as climate change and invasive species, as well as local stressors, such as water pollution, are affecting ecosystems. These threats impact Parks Canada’s ability to meet its target for ecological integrity maintenance and improvement. Parks Canada contributes to ecological integrity through the protection and restoration of natural resources, while providing benefits and enjoyment to Canadians and international visitors. Parks Canada has successfully managed these integrated objectives for over 100 years and manages one of the few national parks systems in the world that has a system-wide ecological integrity monitoring and reporting program, consisting of more than 600 scientific measures that inform park-specific priorities and guide restoration action. Indigenous stewardship is integral to Parks Canada’s work in this area.

In support of maintaining and improving ecological integrity in national parks and ecological sustainability in national marine conservation areas, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• integrate a climate change lens into national policies, strategies, and planning processes by developing guidance and tools that support the consideration of current and future climate conditions across all areas of responsibility
• monitor and report on condition and trends of ecosystems in national parks and national park reserves and continuously evolve the monitoring program to keep it current and relevant
• plan and implement conservation and restoration investments in coordination with key partners and with an emphasis on Indigenous stewardship, evidence-based practice, and measuring management effectiveness
• manage human-wildlife conflict and coexistence, wildlife health, hyper abundant species, alien invasive species, and wildland fire, to support ecological integrity and public safety and enjoyment
• contribute to the protection and recovery of species at risk by supporting federal listing of species at risk under the Species at Risk Act, protecting critical habitat and implementing actions from new and existing site-based, multi-species action plans in coordination with key partners
• pre-publish proposed regulations to increase the protection and ecological sustainability of ecosystems in national marine conservation areas in the Canada Gazette Part I by fall 2025
• advance NMCA management tools, including monitoring and reporting standards
• these actions will enable Parks Canada to better understand and report on the state of the national marine conservation area system and more effectively manage these areas and contribute to ocean and Great Lakes conservation
• continue the development and delivery of a series of accessible, site-specific climate change summaries that describe current climate trends, projections, and impacts to inform and support adaptation efforts at protected heritage places across Canada, with assistance from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services
• conduct research on ecosystem carbon stewardship, in collaboration with Indigenous and other partners, to identify approaches for the establishment and management of protected areas that protect and enhance their contribution to nature-based climate solutions
• implement and monitor the efficacy of restorative justice principles as an additional law enforcement tool for park wardens to support conservation in Parks Canada-administered places
• continue to advance the use of technology and intelligence-driven law enforcement to protect natural and cultural heritage
• deliver professional law enforcement services to protect natural and cultural resources and maintain public safety
• share the impact of its conservation work with Canadians through a new five-year report
• this publication, organized across five conservation priorities, summarizes over 20 projects illustrating the breadth and diversity of science work taking place in different ecosystems across the country

Studying Yehewin Aski, the “Breathing Lands” in the Hudson Bay-James Bay Lowlands

One of the largest complexes of carbon-rich peatlands in the world is in the Hudson Bay-James Bay Lowlands, a region in northern Ontario and Manitoba that is home to the Omushkego Cree where a proposed national marine conservation area spans 86,000 square kilometres. These peatlands store an enormous amount of carbon, helping regulate the global climate. The Omushkego Cree call them “Yehewin Aski,” the Breathing Lands, the lungs of the world – a key natural asset addressing and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Parks Canada is working collaboratively in Yehewin Aski to assess carbon dynamics, biodiversity, and Indigenous knowledge. The initiative is founded on and led by the priorities of the Omushkego Cree, collecting western scientific data and Indigenous knowledge through partnerships with Indigenous communities, universities, other government departments and non-governmental organizations. The initiative will increase knowledge of peatlands, informing conservation planning and on-the-ground efforts in the region and beyond.

 

Honouring and supporting Indigenous peoples’ stewardship

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Number of natural heritage places managed cooperatively with Indigenous peoples	At least 27	March 2026

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been stewards of the lands, waters, and ice that form the region now called Canada. Despite a history of protected heritage establishment in Canada that displaced Indigenous peoples in many places or limited the exercise of their rights and traditions on the landscape, Parks Canada is working with Indigenous partners to restore lost connections to traditional territories and strengthen cooperative and collaborative management of protected places.

Parks Canada’s overarching goal is to honour and support Indigenous stewardship of national heritage places in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA). In particular, this will be achieved by raising awareness of the new Indigenous Stewardship Policy, enacted in ceremony by the Indigenous Stewardship Circle in October 2024, and by providing guidance to support its implementation. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• continue to explore, with Indigenous partners, the potential for new co-managed national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national urban parks as opportunities to honour and support Indigenous stewardship, working toward the target of at least 27 natural heritage places being managed cooperatively with Indigenous peoples by March 2026
• investigate, with Indigenous partners, potential models for realizing joint, contiguous, or co-designated national parks, national marine conservation areas, and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
• advance the implementation of the Indigenous Stewardship Policy to protected heritage place management and governance that is respectfully aligned with Indigenous ways of stewarding lands, water, and ice
• advance shared priorities with Indigenous partners and evolve and co-develop approaches to conservation, commemoration, and presentation to integrate various knowledge systems and information
• continue to conduct research, in collaboration with Indigenous and other partners, on carbon and biodiversity in Canada’s national parks and national marine conservation areas, as well as areas of conservation interest
• in collaboration with the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, provide advice and guidance to Parks Canada team members on the implementation of UNDA Action Plan measures, including harvesting as well as shared governance and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
• advance rights-based negotiations related to cooperative management of natural heritage places and other joint areas of interest at priority Government of Canada negotiation tables
• investigate, with Indigenous partners, methods, and approaches to weave different knowledge systems to inform conservation planning and decision-making
• modernize the species at risk multi-species action planning approach in collaboration with Indigenous partners to include culturally significant species and identify activities that support understanding and conservation of these species
• provide ongoing support for Indigenous guardians programs, including by funding from the Enhanced Nature Legacy fund
• continue to implement key conservation actions from the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site Action Plan, in collaboration with Indigenous partners, other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, and key stakeholders, to ensure that the World Heritage Outstanding Universal Value of Wood Buffalo National Park is maintained for future generations

 

Departmental result 2: Canada’s cultural heritage is protected for present and future generations

Promoting the history of Canada

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Number of persons, places, and events of importance to Canadians that are formally recognized	At least 3,955	March 2026

The Government of Canada, through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), helps connect Canadians with their shared history. Parks Canada supports the designation and commemoration of cultural heritage through formal recognition programs at the national level. Commemoration of cultural heritage can include designations of persons, places, and events of national historic significance, heritage railway stations, heritage lighthouses, prime ministers’ grave sites, Canadian World Heritage Sites, federal heritage buildings, and Canadian heritage rivers. Each designation under the National Program of Historical Commemoration makes a unique contribution to the tapestry of stories that make up our past and collectively contribute to our identity.

Parks Canada is committed to ensuring Canada’s diverse history is told through designations and at the heritage places it has a role in administering, supported by historical expertise and research. The Framework for History and Commemoration: National Historic Site System Plan is the guiding document for all history projects at Parks Canada. Implementing this framework also contributes to Parks Canada’s priorities to enhance cultural heritage protection by working together with Indigenous peoples and equity-deserving communities to tell their stories, as well as its commitments in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan and in support of its recently released Indigenous Stewardship Policy. Integrating the guidance from the Framework and the Indigenous Stewardship Policy ensures that histories communicated at the heritage places Parks Canada has a role in administering are reflective of the diversity of Canada. This approach weaves together the history of Indigenous peoples and stories of nature and culture, delving into all aspects of the country’s past and considering Canada in the context of global history. This work supports commitments to diversity, inclusion, and equity made in response to the Minister’s Round Table on Parks Canada 2020.

In support of this work, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• continue to implement the Framework for History and Commemoration in places Parks Canada has a role in administering, as well as through the National Program of Historical Commemoration and other designation programs, providing direction on presenting history and developing tools and resources that emphasize a full range of voices, perspectives, and experiences
• promote the nomination of new subjects that are representative of diverse communities and encourage public nominations for designations of new persons, places, and events in alignment with the Framework for History and Commemoration’s strategic priorities: Indigenous history, diversity, environmental history, Canada and the world
• support the ongoing work of the HSMBC to address controversy and conflict stemming from existing designations and plaques, consistent with the Framework for History and Commemoration
• this includes reviewing existing designations to make progress on processing controversial designations identified as high priority
• since 2021, 23 designations have been reviewed for a range of issues
• continue work to renew HSMBC criteria and guidelines for evaluating subjects of potential national historic significance with input from a range of stakeholders and in alignment with the Framework for History and Commemoration, UNDA, and Parks Canada’s Indigenous Stewardship policy
• maintain open and transparent communications with the public on the review of designations by ensuring that public requests are processed and that results are posted on the HSMBC website
• continue to modernize the National Program of Historical Commemoration to improve the way places, persons, and events of national historic significance are communicated and shared with Canadians and communities, including the exploration of new digital tools and approaches to commemoration (see highlight box Renewing Parks Canada’s heritage registry)
• promote increased public understanding of Canada’s history and cultural heritage by using digital tools and social media channels to engage Canadians
• support the work of the Geographical Names Board of Canada in places Parks Canada has a role in administering

Renewing Parks Canada’s heritage registry

The Directory of Federal Heritage Designations is an important resource for Canadians to access the complete list of federal designations stemming from Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration. Hosted on Parks Canada’s website, the directory lists more than 3,600 entries and approximately 7,000 pages of information on federal designations and often includes relevant plaque texts, and photographs or illustrations.

Although the current directory software is a valuable tool that has served its purpose for more than two decades, it has been starting to show the limitations of its age, particularly as the world sees such significant advancements in technology. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will advance work on a new heritage registry database software called Arches to support the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations and the Canadian Registry of Historic Places for internal and external use.

The new system will provide significantly improved functionality for users, including a much-improved user interface, better search functions by category (for example, national historic places, persons, and events), geo-spatial data for designations (that is, specific locations), and the ability to access more detailed reporting.

The basic version of the new Directory of Federal Heritage Designations will be available early in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and Parks Canada will continually work to evolve the new directory and include new functionalities over time.

Safeguarding cultural heritage

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Percentage of the historical and archaeological collection, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites in Parks Canada’s care that are safeguarded	At least 90%	March 2026

Cultural resources are maintained through conservation work at the national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national urban park administered by Parks Canada, as well as in the facilities that house Canada’s national collection of archaeological and historical objects. Parks Canada’s cultural heritage experts across the country work to ensure that cultural resources are safeguarded and conserved and that their heritage value is shared for the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of present and future generations. Parks Canada also collaborates and engages with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, Indigenous partners, and heritage stakeholders in the protection and conservation of cultural heritage. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• conserve and safeguard the cultural heritage collection of archaeological and historical objects under Parks Canada’s care by moving collections as part of a multi-year phasing into the new purpose-built Parks Canada Collection and Curatorial Centre
• the cultural heritage collection located at existing storage facilities will be moved to the new facility with the appropriate environmental controls
• protect the heritage value of cultural resources by continuing to provide cultural resource management and critical archaeology support, using a risk-based approach, at heritage places administered by Parks Canada, which may include repair, maintenance, and capital investments
• collaborate with provinces and territories by meeting with the Federal, Provincial, Territorial, Cultural Heritage Table to advance common goals related to cultural heritage protection and conservation
• continue implementation of the Cultural Resource Management Information System to manage the archaeological and historical objects and archeological sites under the administration of Parks Canada
• continue analysis and documentation of underwater investigations at the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror national historic sites and share it through various means including publications
• As funding received through Budget 2021 sunset in March 2025, investigations at HMS Erebus and HMS Terror will now shift from on-site archaeological excavations to an appropriate monitoring program with the aid of Inuk Guardians
• continue to conduct impact analyses at heritage places, using a risk-based approach, to identify and document potential threats and propose mitigations to ensure the protection of cultural resources
• complete the pilot of the process and tool for assessing Parks Canada cultural heritage assets. This tool aims to help Parks Canada strategically identify and plan for the built heritage elements of its portfolio of cultural fixed assets
• conduct climate change risk assessments as part of preventive conservation for the management of historical and archaeological objects at national historic sites, including capturing the level of disaster preparedness for objects and mitigation measures for climate change-related impacts and disasters
• As of March 2024, 13 risk assessments at national historic sites were completed towards Parks Canada’s target of 35 by March 2027
• support cultural heritage protection through scientific mapping, pollution monitoring, climate, and other scientific research in both natural and cultural heritage places administered by Parks Canada, including those with a direct link to Indigenous peoples
• continue to develop and review policy instruments, tools, and training related to cultural heritage and the management of cultural resources, including the conservation of national historic sites and built heritage
• provide financial assistance to support the protection and presentation of nationally recognized heritage places not administered by the federal government through Parks Canada’s National Cost-Sharing Program for Heritage Places
• provide historical expertise, advice, and research in support of protection and conservation of federal heritage properties through the Federal Heritage Review Office, as well as heritage lighthouses and railways
• continue to lead the implementation of the World Heritage Convention for Canada, including working with partners toward the designation of new World Heritage Sites
• This includes, supporting early work on the nomination of the Trans-Atlantic Cable Ensemble (Heart's Content/ Valentia) for the submission to the World Heritage Centre in September 2025; and continued support for the Wanuskewin preliminary assessment for potential world heritage site
• collaborate with the Canadian Heritage Institute and the Canadian Heritage Network at Canadian Heritage and Public Services and Procurement Canada on the design of the new facility for the Cultural Heritage Science Hub, in line with the Budget 2024 announcement on Laboratories Canada

Renewing the principles for the management of cultural heritage

Parks Canada is one of the principal cultural resource management organizations in Canada and is the Government of Canada lead for matters and programs related to built and archaeological heritage. Parks Canada’s Cultural Resources Management (CRM) Policy (2013) supports an integrated and holistic approach to the management of cultural resources. It applies to conserving and sharing the heritage value of the national treasures that are under the stewardship of Parks Canada and is also used by other owners of national historic sites or places of heritage value.

On September 1, 2025, a renewed version of the CRM policy, the Policy on the Management of Cultural Resources, Archaeological Sites, Heritage Lighthouses, and World Heritage Sites (2023) will come into force. In line with the principles of the Parks Canada Indigenous Stewardship Framework and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, the renewed CRM Policy was developed through ongoing dialogue with Indigenous partners to ensure integration of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis perspectives, protocols, values, and practices into approaches for the conservation and sharing of cultural heritage at places that Parks Canada administers. In addition, several national heritage organizations provided feedback on drafts of the policy and the public was invited to submit comments via a dedicated Parks Canada web page and the “Consulting with Canadians” platform.

 

Honouring and supporting Indigenous peoples’ stewardship

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Number of cultural heritage places managed cooperatively with Indigenous peoples	At least 15	March 2026

The cultures and identities of Indigenous peoples are rooted in the land, and honouring these connections is crucial to advancing reconciliation. Canada is committed to a system of national heritage places that recognize and honour the historic and contemporary contributions of Indigenous peoples, their histories, and cultures, as well as their special relationships with ancestral lands, waters, and ice. Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples are partners in conserving natural and cultural heritage and sharing the stories of these treasured places.

In recent years, Parks Canada has completed work on several rights reconciliation agreements with the Indigenous signatories of the Peace and Friendship Treaties in provinces in Eastern Canada. Implementation of cooperative management for protected heritage areas covered by these agreements has begun. Work on remaining rights reconciliation agreements is expected to be finalized by March 2026.

Parks Canada strives to work collaboratively with Indigenous peoples, honouring and supporting Indigenous stewardship at places Parks Canada has a role in administering. In alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) and Parks Canada’s priorities, the new Indigenous Stewardship Policy, was enacted in ceremony by the Indigenous Stewardship Circle in October 2024, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls-to-action 79 and 80. Work in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 will focus on implementation and raising awareness of the new policy.

In support of these commitments, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• collaboratively advance co-management and shared decision-making with Indigenous peoples at cultural heritage places by establishing new cooperative management structures to support the stewardship of heritage places
• contribute to the implementation of UNDA by reviewing law, policies, and operational practices for their suitability in supporting Indigenous peoples’ exercise of rights and responsibilities in places Parks Canada has a role in administering, and develop or amend policies, practices, and pursue amendments to law, where they are not in line with these goals
• developing, in consultation with Indigenous peoples, a framework to measure progress on the Government of Canada’s UNDA Action Plan progress by March 2027, a commitment also made in Parks Canada’s 2023 to 2027 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• advance the implementation of the Indigenous Stewardship Policy to protected heritage place management and governance that is respectfully aligned with Indigenous ways of stewarding lands, water, and ice and continue to advance the priorities shared by Indigenous partners and to evolve approaches to conservation, commemoration, and presentation
• advance rights-based negotiations related to cooperative management of cultural heritage places and other joint areas of interest at priority Government of Canada negotiation tables
• continue advancing new designations going to the HSMBC pertaining to Indian Residential Schools, their legacies, and Indigenous histories in Canada, as resources permit following funding and participation in the Government of Canada Horizontal Initiative Implementing the Federal Framework to Address the Legacy of Residential Schools which ended on March 31, 2025
• This initiative provided opportunities to review these existing designations and to engage Indigenous organizations, communities, and Survivor groups in new designations
• continue to engage Indigenous communities connected to Parks Canada’s heritage places to share two-way knowledge on archaeology, collections, conservation, and on access to Indigenous artifacts and objects under Parks Canada’s care
• implement the renewed Cultural Resources Management Policy: Policy on the Management of Cultural Resources, Archaeological Sites, Heritage Lighthouses, and World Heritage Sites (2023) that comes into force on September 1, 2025
• the renewed CRM Policy was developed through ongoing dialogue with Indigenous partners to be respectful of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis perspectives, protocols, values and practices, and to integrate into these approaches into the conservation and sharing of cultural heritage at places that Parks Canada administers
• collaborate and share knowledge through innovative partnerships with international, national, regional, and local stakeholders, as well as Indigenous governments and organizations, to enhance natural and cultural heritage conservation
• participate in the Interdepartmental Inclusive Science Working Group
• this project was initiated in response to the Clerk of the Privy Council's call to action to increase diversity in the sciences by considering hiring practices, methods of data collection, research topics, and training practices
• ensure Indigenous knowledge and values, both tangible and intangible are respected, reflected, and honoured in the management of cultural resources

Implementing the Indigenous Stewardship Policy

Parks Canada’s new Indigenous Stewardship Policy, which was enacted in ceremony by the Indigenous Stewardship Circle in October 2024, supports the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan. This policy is fundamentally about relationships, collaborating with Indigenous communities, supporting Indigenous leadership and self-determination, and respecting Indigenous rights and responsibilities, as well as Indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems.

The enactment of the Indigenous Stewardship Policy is only the first step in significant but important work to support equitable, effective, and collaborative stewardship now and into the future between Indigenous communities and Parks Canada. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will begin implementation of the policy, and in consultation with Indigenous peoples, it will develop a measurement framework to measure UNDA Action Plan progress by March 2027.

Parks Canada has committed to five measures under the UNDA Action Plan, all linked to the Indigenous Stewardship Framework. The five measures advanced by Parks Canada are aimed at recognizing and honouring Indigenous peoples’ rights and responsibilities in stewarding lands, waters, and ice within their traditional territories, treaty lands, and ancestral homelands. Specifically, the UNDA Action Plan measures address harvesting by Indigenous peoples, governance, cultural continuity, Indigenous knowledge, and apologies/acknowledgements. They also commit to aligning Parks Canada legislation with the UN Declaration.

 

Pursuing long-term asset sustainability strategies and priorities

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Percentage of heritage assets in good or fair condition	At least 47%	March 2028

Parks Canada manages a complex collection of nearly 18,200 built heritage and contemporary assets with a current replacement value (CRV) of $30.5 billion (2023 dollars). A significant proportion of these real property assets do not just deliver programming — they are a key component of Parks Canada’s raison d’être, and their ongoing stewardship and presentation is critical to its mandate. Parks Canada is steward for nationally significant examples of iconic and irreplaceable built heritage assets, including historic canals and waterways, that preserve the history and cultures of Canada.

Budget 2024 announced a time-limited investment of $545.1 million over four years, beginning in fiscal year 2024 to 2025, for capital investments in Canada’s national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas. These time-limited funds will support urgent, time-sensitive work on real property, including high-priority projects, essential asset repairs and maintenance, improvements to staff housing, as well as planning for rationalization of select assets to support affordability. Accordingly, Parks Canada plans to focus its available funding (including Budget 2024 funds) on the most urgent investments needed in assets where current condition poses the greatest risk to the health and safety of visitors, users, local residents, and to its employees.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will continue with existing projects to protect built heritage sites of national historic significance, while prioritizing new investments to strengthen regulatory compliance and address health and safety issues in its built heritage assets portfolio. Examples of this work will include:

• anticipated completion of a major, multi-year restoration project to conserve the iconic, 170-year-old Province House National Historic Site in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, also the home of PEI’s provincial legislature
• initiation of masonry and stabilization work to support wall restoration of Batterie St-Charles at the Fortifications of Québec National Historic Site in Quebec City
• replacement of the fire suppression/sprinkler system at Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic Site on Prince Edward Island, which is nearing the end of its useful life

Based on the Long-Term Asset Sustainability Strategy that it completed in 2022, Parks Canada’s long-term objective is to maintain a higher (90%) proportion of its real property portfolio in a strategic mix of good and fair condition. However, the extent to which this objective can be achieved in the short to medium term is dependent on available funding levels. Current levels of funding for asset interventions represent approximately 20% of what would be needed to achieve the 90% objective.

Given available resources for built asset maintenance and recapitalization, Parks Canada reported a decrease in the overall percentage of its built heritage assets in good or fair condition in its 2023 to 2024 Departmental Results Report, from 61% in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to 58% in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. At existing funding levels, this decline in the overall condition of the asset portfolio is expected to continue to accelerate to a significant degree due to the ongoing accumulation of deferred work and increasingly lower levels of investment compared to previous years. As a result, the projected target for this indicator has been reduced from past years to align with what can be accomplished with current funding. Based on modelling and factoring in recent trends, Parks Canada expects that 47% of its built heritage assets will be in good or fair condition by March 31, 2028, a net decrease of 11% from its 2023 to 2024 results.

Heritage conservation professionals will continue to conduct impact analyses identifying potential threats and proposing approaches to ensure the protection of cultural resources. However, with the sunset of temporary funding sources and lower levels of investment in its asset portfolio versus previous years, a decline in the overall condition of this segment of the portfolio is anticipated. Parks Canada continues to explore options to advance the sustainability of built heritage assets under its administration.

 

Departmental result 3: People connect to and experience Canada’s natural and cultural heritage in ways that are meaningful to them

Providing meaningful, inclusive experiences

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Number of visitors experiencing Parks Canada places	At least 23.7 million	March 2026
Percentage of Canadians that support the protection and presentation of Parks Canada places	At least 78%	March 2026

Places administered by Parks Canada are a source of shared pride for all Canadians. Parks Canada is committed to working toward barrier-free access to national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas and national urban parks. Ensuring that these places continue to evolve and reflect Canada’s diversity allows Canadians to participate in their protection and enjoyment. This has direct ties to health and a sense of belonging toward these treasured places. Parks Canada will continue to facilitate the enjoyment and appreciation of the places it administers and engage Canadians to participate in and appreciate the value of cultural and natural heritage and conservation now and into the future.

The heritage places administered by Parks Canada are popular destinations enjoyed by millions of Canadians and visitors from around the world. Parks Canada will build upon its work in recent years to welcome and provide visitors with world-class experiences and responsibly manage the annual target of 23.7 million visitors, fostering continued support for its mandate. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• continue to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of visitor services, experiences, and opportunities for all Canadians and visitors from around the world to enjoy
• leverage a variety of delivery mechanisms and investments to continue to work to remove barriers and deliver equitable offers through design of experience and outreach approaches
• seek to continually innovate its services, experiences, and outreach programs offered to Canadians and international visitors, prioritizing services and offers that make a difference in the quality of life of Canadians
• collaborate with others to engage Canadians in the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of protected places
• promote awareness, enjoyment, and visitation to a wider range of a national heritage places, as well as encourage visitation during non-peak periods (that is, spring, autumn, and winter) where feasible
• manage visitation at Parks Canada’s busiest destinations to provide high-quality visitor experiences, while ensuring resources and ecosystems are protected, encouraging Canadians and visitors from around the world to enjoy the full range of destinations within the Parks Canada network

 

Recovering and rebuilding in Jasper National Park

On July 22, 2024, multiple wildfires in Jasper National Park began threatening the Jasper townsite. Parks Canada, working in Unified Command with the Municipality of Jasper, efficiently managed the evacuation, prioritizing public safety and securing the town.

Parks Canada, the Municipality of Jasper and its partners worked tirelessly to protect the town of Jasper and limit wildfire growth towards the town, Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) leading to the town, and critical infrastructure. Over the course of the fire, more than 3,000 personnel worked on the fire, which is estimated to be the largest in Jasper in the last century.

The Jasper Wildfire Complex had a significant impact on the Jasper townsite and beloved sites within the national park with 30% of the structures in town destroyed and damage to outlying areas and park infrastructure outside town. In total the wildfire destroyed 820 housing units, leaving a significant portion of the town's population without homes.

Re-entry for Jasper residents and businesses began on August 16, 2024, as soon as the townsite was deemed safe, with a basic level of services in place for residents and businesses to return to begin the process of recovery. The major transport corridors of Highway 16 and 93N (Icefields Parkway) were opened for traffic as a priority as soon as fire conditions permitted.

Led by Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper, the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC) was established on August 22, 2024, to guide the recovery effort with support from all levels of government. The JRCC ensures partnership and coordination across governments as the community moves forward in the recovery process with dedicated working groups for housing, demolition and debris removal, rebuilding of homes and businesses, and social and economic recovery. Together, the JRCC members have outlined a five-phase approach to rebuilding Jasper and made changes to the development policies in Jasper to make rebuilding easier, increase the community’s housing supply, and improve the community’s wildfire and climate resilience by using the latest FireSmart research.

Reopening visitor offers and areas outside the town required removing hazards such as fallen trees, assessing trail conditions, repairing infrastructure, and restoring several services, including emergency response, visitor safety, garbage collection, washroom cleaning, human-wildlife coexistence, and facilities maintenance. It also required effective communication through Parks Canada websites, social media and signage to prevent access to closed areas.

Parks Canada is committed to Jasper’s recovery and has put dedicated teams and resources in place to ensure Canadians can enjoy Jasper National Park next summer. In addition to the important work in the Jasper townsite to support residents and businesses, Parks Canada’s extensive recovery efforts have restored access to most scenic areas, lakes, and trails so that it is able to invite visitors to explore Jasper National Park’s natural beauty once again.

Parks Canada is now preparing to welcome adventurers, nature lovers and families in 2025 to enjoy a wide range of camping and outdoor activities. For the 2025 camping season, most of Jasper National Park’s front country campsites and all backcountry campsites will be open, with reservations available starting in January 2025, giving everyone the opportunity to plan their next outdoor experience in Jasper National Park’s breathtaking surroundings.

Supporting the growth of Canada’s tourism sector

As a significant contributor to local economies, Parks Canada will continue to build relationships with tourism sector partners to help support the industry’s growth. Parks Canada will work with these partners to enhance third party programming offers for visitors. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• collaborate with Destination Canada, as well as federal, provincial and territorial partners, Indigenous partners and NGOs to support local and regional tourism growth and prosperity as well as an optimal geographic and seasonal distribution of visitors
• work with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, along with Indigenous communities and businesses across Canada, to support development and delivery of Indigenous experiences to domestic and international visitors
• continuously improve digital services to Canadians, including planning tools, transaction tools, and online reservations, and advance a “digital-first” approach to provide better service
• support the growth of the tourism sector through a national tourism advertising campaign
• The campaign aims to increase awareness of Parks Canada’s administered places by promoting its diverse offers, while supporting tourism in communities adjacent to these places
• collaborate with Destination Canada to enhance Parks Canada’s presence on Expedia’s online platform, showcasing the diversity of Parks Canada destinations and products offered through galleries, videos, itineraries, and blogs
• support the implementation of the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy to foster long-term economic growth across the country, promote investment in attraction and destination development, position Canada as a destination of choice, and help address tourism industry gaps and opportunities

Reaching Canadians in their communities

Parks Canada has a role in administering more than 200 national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas, and one national urban park across the country that welcome tens of millions of visitors each year. Parks Canada delivers an extraordinary range of cultural, natural, and recreational experiences at these places. It also brings nature and history to Canadians in their communities and their homes through innovative outreach and engagement programming, digital experiences, such as the Parks Canada mobile app and the Coastie initiative, and promotional activities. Parks Canada works with a wide variety of local and regional partners to provide visitor services and experiences, and to introduce Canadians to the safe enjoyment of natural, cultural, and historic places. To support these efforts, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• work to better connect with all Canadians by adopting inclusivity and accessibility best practices in both digital and non-digital branding and communications
• implement website improvements based on the results from usability research and testing by users with disabilities
• user testing results contributed to the development of new page layouts and the use of plain language to make information on Parks Canada's website, such as accessible services at national historic sites and national parks, easier to find and understand
• implement GCForms, the Government of Canada’s modern, digital platform to ensure a streamlined, secure, and accessible medium for Canadians to complete forms and other submissions for Parks Canada
• These web forms will also improve internal efficiency and reduce Parks Canada’s environmental impact by replacing paper forms
• continue to engage in partnering and collaborative arrangements with external partners to reach additional audiences and connect with Canadians in ways that are meaningful to them
• leverage key anniversaries and significant dates, such as the 75th anniversary of Fundy National Park, the 10th anniversary of Rouge National Urban Park and the 200th anniversary of the Lachine Canal, to celebrate and foster a connection with various audiences and to continue sharing stories across generations

Accessibility, equity, and inclusion are Parks Canada’s brand

While the choice of font seems like a small, meaningless decision, fonts play a significant role in ensuring accessibility, equity, and inclusion. Some fonts are easier or harder for some individuals to read, such as those with visual impairments or a reading disability such as dyslexia. In addition, many commonly used fonts cannot properly display text in languages that don’t use the Latin script, which English, French, and many other languages use, which creates a challenge when writing content for audiences that speak different languages.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will adopt Noto Sans as its brand typeface. Noto Sans – short for “no tofu”, refers to the squares that appear when a character is not available in a screen font. This accessible typeface can render more than 1000 languages and over 100 writing systems, including Indigenous languages in Canada that use syllabics, like languages in the Algonquian and Inuit families. While also meeting high accessibility standards and improving usability for users with visible impairments, this font change will allow for efficient and equal representation of Indigenous languages in Parks Canada’s branded communications.

Honouring and supporting Indigenous stewardship

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Number of places where Indigenous peoples use land and waters according to their traditional and modern practices	At least 42	March 2026

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been stewards of the lands, waters and ice that form the region now called Canada. No relationship is more important to Parks Canada than its relationship with Indigenous peoples. Parks Canada works with hundreds of Indigenous communities and organizations, striving to strengthen and restore connections to traditional territories to honour and support Indigenous stewardship in heritage places, and to facilitate and/or remove barriers to traditional land use and cultural practices. Indigenous stewardship of national heritage places supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA), including through the UNDA Action Plan.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• advance the implementation of the Indigenous Stewardship Policy to protected heritage place management and governance that is respectfully aligned with Indigenous ways of stewarding lands, water, and ice
• work with Indigenous peoples to pursue opportunities to connect meaningfully with their traditional territories, such as through collaborative projects, agreements, or mechanisms that support Indigenous leadership in the stewardship of lands, waters, and ice in places administered by Parks Canada, for example:
• Fathom Five National Marine Park is working with members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation to understand a lake-wide decline in Dikameg (Lake Whitefish), a socio-ecologically important fish species, using a two-eyed seeing approach that engages both traditional knowledge system and western science perspectives
• Parks Canada is collaborating with members of the Champagne & Aishihik and Kluane First Nations with shared learning and elders’ guidance in respecting the land and people, and finding appropriate cultural fire site locations which will help restore natural process and rejuvenate Kluane National Park’s boreal forests
• continue to advance Indigenous partners’ priorities and evolve approaches and agreements around land use conservation, in alignment with the UN Declaration
• in collaboration with the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, provide advice and guidance on implementation of UNDA Action Plan measures, including harvesting, as well as shared governance and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
• work with Indigenous partners to co-develop, where appropriate, the delivery of authentic Indigenous experiences at places Parks Canada has a role in administering and the sharing of Indigenous stories, perspectives and cultures with Canadians and visitors from around the world
• continue to support a variety of projects prioritizing opportunities for Indigenous peoples to share and communicate their history in their own voices at heritage places that Parks Canada has a role in administering across the country

Pursuing long-term asset sustainability strategies and priorities

Indicators	Target	Date to achieve
Percentage of contemporary assets in good or fair condition	At least 49%	March 2028

Parks Canada’s ability to welcome visitors to inclusive and accessible places and meet its mandate of protecting and presenting national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas, heritage canals, and national urban parks, is dependent on its assets. Visitor services infrastructure includes roads and bridges inside of a park or site, visitor reception centres, facilities, day use areas, trails, docks, campgrounds, and others. In addition to supporting visitors, some assets provide critical functions, such as transportation, water management and flood control, highways and through ways, as well as municipal-type services to residents and businesses. As such, the functioning and safety are of critical importance to ensure the health and well-being of the people that use them.

Recently, Budget 2024 announced a time-limited investment of $545.1 million over four years (beginning in fiscal year 2024 to 2025) to support critical, time-sensitive capital and maintenance activities for real property assets under the administration of Parks Canada that support the delivery of its mandate in national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas across the country. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and following years, investment of these temporary resources will target improvement in the condition of Parks Canada’s assets in areas of highest risk across the country.

Parks Canada will continue existing infrastructure projects to improve the condition of contemporary assets in the places it administers, while focusing the new investment of time-limited funding on meeting minimum requirements to maintain safe use of primary transportation corridors and addressing those assets with the highest risk and consequence of failure that may impact the health and safety of Canadians and visitors. Notable examples that will be undertaken in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 include:

• replacement of White's Portage Dam on the Trent-Severn Waterway to mitigate flooding, address dam safety requirements for water management operations, and increase safety both for residents and visitors
• development of Sable Island Sustainable Micro-Grid in Nova Scotia to generate electricity by combining zero-carbon sources with more efficient, lower carbon generation technology
• replacement of the Halfway Brook Bridge on the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia;
• the new bridge is designed to withstand climate change events and will offer a separate pedestrian crossing underneath for improved safety of trail users
• removal and replacement of a collapsed structural culvert on the Trans-Canada Highway through Glacier National Park in British Columbia that poses a risk for flooding of the road
• the design for this work considers climate resiliency and wildlife protection measures

With optimized levels of resourcing to support the management of real property, Parks Canada would maintain a higher (90%) proportion of its real property portfolio in a strategic mix of good and fair condition in the long-term. However, even with new funding announced in Budget 2024, available funding represents only 20% of the annual investment required to sustain Parks Canada’s overall asset portfolio in a reasonable and strategic mix of conditions.

While Parks Canada has seen improvements in the percentage of contemporary assets in good or fair condition in recent years, this is a result of significant investments across its entire asset portfolio of nearly $4.5 billion in temporary funding since 2015 under the Federal Infrastructure Investment program and subsequent budget announcements. These investments have enabled Parks Canada to undertake the renewal of targeted heritage and contemporary assets in its portfolio; however, as these funds have continued to sunset, investments possible under this time-limited funding have steadily decreased since peak levels in 2019. As a result, decline in the condition of this asset category in the coming years is projected to result in only 47% of Parks Canada’s contemporary assets being in good to fair condition by March 31, 2028. This would be a net decrease in overall condition of 30% compared to the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year.

Parks Canada continues to explore options to advance the sustainability of contemporary infrastructure assets under its administration.

 

Key risks

Through its activities, Parks Canada seeks to mitigate the key risks facing the organization.

In response to the risk of climate change, which presents significant threats to the ecosystems, cultural heritage, infrastructure, and services it manages and delivers, Parks Canada assesses climate change risk to individual places, seeks to understand its potential impacts and identifies measures for feasible and effective adaptation and response. Parks Canada also aims to integrate a climate lens into national policies, strategies, and planning processes through the creation of function-specific guidance, tools, and other resources that consider current and future climate conditions across all areas of responsibility. It will also work to review emergency management procedures, particularly to prepare for and respond to the challenges of wildfires, flooding, erosion, and other climate change-related natural disasters.

The legal and regulatory environment for Indigenous rights in Canada that Parks Canada operates under, challenges its ability to deliver on its priorities, namely to honour and support Indigenous stewardship as outlined in the new Indigenous Stewardship Policy, and to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan. Falling short of obligations will have a negative impact on Parks Canada’s relationships with Indigenous peoples, communities, and organizations as well as the management of the places it administers.

Parks Canada will also work to strengthen relationships with Indigenous partners where they exist and work to build relationships where they do not, working to facilitate Indigenous relationships with their traditional lands, waters, and ice. Parks Canada will also advance the realization of its commitments in the UNDA Action Plan through avenues like the newly released Indigenous Stewardship Policy and the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, including by developing, in consultation with Indigenous peoples, a measurement framework to measure UNDA Action Plan progress. Internally, Parks Canada will also investigate, with Indigenous partners, methods, and approaches to weave different knowledge systems to inform conservation planning and decision-making.

If Parks Canada does not meet the pace or requirements of digital modernization, its ability to deliver critical and non-critical services to Canadians due to aging information technology and information management processes will be increasingly at risk. Mitigations include completing upgrades to critical applications that support essential safety functions, reviewing current digital tools through its application portfolio management approaches, retiring those that have low business value, and focusing on improving the technological health of priority digital tools. Parks Canada will also implement a new Investment and Project Management system and an Enterprise Data Management solution which will provide a centralized platform for planning, tracking, results, and overseeing projects and investments.

Asset sustainability continues to be a significant area of risk for Parks Canada as time-limited funding comes to an end; as a result, its ability to maintain the condition of its significant asset portfolio is challenged. Further, given Parks Canada’s role in managing the largest portfolio of lands and one of the largest built asset portfolios in the Government of Canada, the current approach of treating the management of the real property asset portfolio as strictly part of Parks Canada’s internal services (described later in this plan) does not give program-critical assets the visibility, prioritization or results-based evidence of the portfolio’s value.

To mitigate these risks, Parks Canada will continue work to articulate future funding requirements to increase and supplement its base capital allocation for its fixed asset portfolio. Given the impending sunset of approved, temporary asset funding, there is a sizeable gap between existing funding levels and requirements for annual, long-term capital and maintenance investment to sustain Parks Canada’s asset dependent programs. Existing projects to invest time-limited funding to support priority improvements to its heritage and contemporary built asset portfolio will be completed, with new investments focussing on the most urgent projects, such as assets in conditions posing the greatest risk to the health and safety of visitors, users, local residents, and Parks Canada team members. Parks Canada will also prioritize new investments to strengthen regulatory compliance and address health and safety issues in its built heritage assets portfolio and continue to conduct impact analyses identifying potential threats and proposing approaches to ensure the protection of its built heritage assets.

Further, as part of Parks Canada’s transition to a modernized Departmental Results Framework, program-critical asset segments will be treated within the Program Inventory and managed as a part of Parks Canada’s programs. Program reviews and the program integrity’s dependence upon asset condition, availability, and utility will qualify and quantify this risk under a different model.

To address the risk of financial sustainability, Parks Canada will advance initiatives to modernize and integrate its financial, investment, and project management regimes to support the implementation of strengthened planning, forecasting, and budgeting practices to ensure effective financial resource management. It will also design and implement strengthened, renewed and more efficient governance processes, systems, and tools to improve oversight and efficacy. Parks Canada will also implement the findings of the enterprise-wide review that assessed resource levels across all business units by identifying baseline resource requirements for the sustainable delivery of mandated activities. This will be coordinated with the transition to a modernized Departmental Results Framework and implementation of an effective integrated financial and business planning. It will also work to advance the optimization of its real property portfolio by focusing on affordability and core assets required for the delivery of the Parks Canada mandate. Together these processes and frameworks support priority-setting, resource allocation against priorities and enable regular program review and assessment.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 7: Planned resources to achieve results for Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage
Table 7 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource	Planned
Spending	$1,112,091,542
Full-time equivalents	4,897

Complete financial and human resources information for Parks Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

As an operationally focused Government of Canada agency providing services directly to Canadians, Parks Canada is committed to increasing inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in all areas of its work. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will continue to implement its Gender-based analysis Plus (GBA Plus) Action Plan. This plan outlines the structure for GBA Plus within the organization, including:

• enhanced institutional capacity and governance to implement GBA Plus
• improved ability of team members to integrate GBA Plus
• stronger monitoring, reporting and impact of GBA Plus

This year, Parks Canada will continue to improve the application of GBA Plus in its programs, policies, and operations through key processes such as visitor experience planning and product development, strategic partnering, management planning and evaluation. Evaluations will be informed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Integrating Gender-Based Analysis Plus into Evaluation: A Primer.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will support its GBA Plus goals by:

• continuing its work towards equipping Parks Canada’s managers and human resources specialists with revised tools and updated resources that promote equitable, diverse, and inclusive practices throughout staffing processes
• continuing work on equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives in wildfire management, including finalizing the updated “Understanding Diversity, Inclusion and Respect” training, and developing gender-specific size charts for wildland fire fighting personal protective equipment
• developing a training module related to cultural safety that will be delivered as a component of various wildfire management training courses, to improve cultural sensitivity among team members to better support their Indigenous firefighting colleagues
• supporting research related to equity, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization in collaboration with the PARKS+ Collective (formerly known as the Canadian Parks, Protected and Conserved Areas Leadership Collective) to inform the development of new science and research policy, guidance, and tools for Parks Canada
• undertaking research studies and analyses related to accessibility, diversity, and inclusion that will inform the development of new national urban parks, new national parks, and new national marine conservation areas
• continuing to create accessible, inclusive experiences online and at places administered by Parks Canada
• strengthening connections to and seeking new opportunities with accessibility organizations in communities across Canada to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to meaningfully experience national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas, as outlined in the commitments made in response to the Minister’s Round Table 2023
• continuing to support programs like Learn to Camp Vancouver, which has partnered with BC Parks, the Canucks Autism Network, Mountain Equipment Company, and Power To Be to deliver a first camping experience for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families
• through programs like these, families forge meaningful connections with Parks Canada and other families as they build their skills, knowledge, and confidence to be in the outdoors with special attention paid to remove physical, cognitive, cultural, and financial barriers to participation
• treating the accessibility of national parks as a collective responsibility
• through efforts such as training opportunities and program delivery, partnerships demonstrate that collaboration between organizations that share similar values can help identify and remove barriers and promote inclusion in the outdoors

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

More information on Parks Canada’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage is supported by the following programs:

• Heritage Places Establishment
• Heritage Places Conservation
• Heritage Promotion and Public Support
• Visitor Experience
• Heritage Canals, Highways, and Townsites Management

Additional information related to the program inventory for Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Internal services

In this section

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Plans to achieve results

This section presents details on how the department plans to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.

Management and oversight services

Parks Canada continues to improve its planning and performance capacity to support robust, effective, and efficient program delivery to Canadians and support Government of Canada priorities. To further its work in this area, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• continue the development and implementation of a revised Investment Management Framework to align with a strengthened investment governance and the renewed Departmental Results Framework
• continue work to renew its Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory for the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year by updating Parks Canada’s performance information profiles and departmental results indicators
• develop an online system to house and to manage new performance information profiles so they are kept up to date and accessible for use
• continue to mature its annual integrated business planning cycle to ensure that resources are reallocated to the highest priorities and that Parks Canada is well positioned to deliver results to Canadians within its assigned budget
• implement strengthened, renewed, and more efficient governance, processes, systems, and tools to meet Parks Canada’s operating context and better serve Canadians
• develop capacity within Parks Canada to lead, coordinate, and sequence horizontal initiatives using tools such as a dashboard to track key initiatives, milestones, and key risks related to their implementation
• continue creation of an all-hazards emergency management program for severe climate events, and wildfire management and prevention
• continue the implementation of the Departmental Security Plan
• activities planned this year include additional enhancements to security screening processes, the implementation of a new business continuity management directive, and the continued maturation of the professional standards within the security function
• support change management communications for the Government of Canada workplace standard
• this includes relaying and receiving expectations and feedback on the working environment as it shifts to a more condensed layout and unassigned seating
• complete the review of the Directive on Management Planning and Reporting

Communications services

Parks Canada will continue to augment its efforts to connect people with its mandate and raise awareness, understanding, and support for the entirety of its work. Parks Canada will accomplish this with new processes to identify priority areas of focus for storytelling and engagement activities – including through digital and virtual platforms – and through coordinating and integrating content across its channels.

Human resources management services

Parks Canada’s workforce is the foundation of its operational success. The organization remains committed to fostering a positive and healthy work environment by promoting diversity, inclusivity, and a culture of safety and collaboration. Achieving a workplace that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive—where team members across the country know they belong —continues to be a long-term priority. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will take the following steps to advance this commitment:

• re-establish and strive to attain multi-year inclusion and representation goals, while frequently measuring progress on moving from words to actions on addressing racism, and advancing reconciliation, accessibility, equity, and inclusion
• continue the implementation of the employment pillar of Parks Canada’s 2022 to 2025 Accessibility Action Plan and report on overall organizational progress, as well as publish an updated version of the action plan for the 2025 to 2028 cycle
• continue refining the newly implemented centralized service delivery model for the Duty to Accommodate (DTA) in the Centre of Expertise, enhancing the DTA service model business intake through a service ticketing system to improve monitoring and reporting capabilities
• promote the Workplace Accessibility Passport and collaborate with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) on the integration of “my Accessible Workplace” for Parks Canada team members on the TBS applications portal once the pilot phase is successfully completed
• continue to implement its multi-year Employment Equity Action Plan as well as the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Strategy and provide relevant guidance to all managers and supervisors in the organization
• continue to participate in Treasury Board Leadership Development Programs for equity-deserving groups, including the Mosaic Leadership Development Program, which aims to remove barriers to promotion for equity-deserving employees at the EX minus 1 level and the Mentorship Plus program, which seeks to pair federal public service employees with executive mentors or sponsors
• work to increase the representation of youth facing barriers to employment in its workforce through continued participation in the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) program, emphasizing youth from equity-deserving groups
• to support this initiative, Parks Canada has built and plans to uphold its relationships with and hire from organizations and communities that support these youth
• break down barriers faced by Indigenous team members, guided by the Government of Canada’s Indigenous Career Navigators Program
• this program was established in response to the Many Voices, One Mind: A Pathway to Reconciliation Action Plan to support Indigenous public servants across the country
• continue a strategic approach to inclusive recruitment strategies and improved onboarding, reinforcing the commitment to representation and retention of Indigenous employees within the Parks Canada team
• provide Indigenous team members with equitable access to resources for professional growth and development, such as through Parks Canada’s Indigenous Employee Training Fund
• support its network of champions for equity-deserving groups, established in 2021, with a particular focus on the recently added champions for Wellness, Youth, and the Managers’ Community
• as part of the Mental Health Strategy, Parks Canada will establish a National Wellness committee under the leadership of the Mental Health Champions and nurture the network of Wellness Ambassadors
• finalize and implement its Official Languages Accountability and Reporting Framework within the next two years
• this will establish and clarify key management roles and responsibilities, ensuring that Parks Canada is compliant with TBS' official languages policy by reinforcing managers’ capacity to serve the public and supervise employees in bilingual regions
• continue the implementation of the Pay Equity Act and establish Parks Canada’s first Pay Equity Plan by February 27, 2026

Parks Canada remains committed to building a safe and harassment-free work environment that supports workplace health and wellness and promotes civility and respect. Parks Canada continues its drive to uphold the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being in its field and office work environments. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• continue to emphasize zero tolerance for harassment and violence in the workplace and promote training to increase awareness for employees and managers, while also focusing on issues of workplace dynamics
• implement the Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy user manual guide across the organization and diversify access to the modernized mandatory training
• continue efforts to optimize the hybrid work experience by ensuring managers at all levels are equipped to support the current model
• monitor compliance with the Guide on Hybrid Working Arrangements and effectively address instances of non-compliance and hybrid exception requests on a case-by-case basis
• refocus our efforts in conducting and regularly reviewing workplace assessments that address the risk factors relevant to harassment and violence, as well as the 13 psychosocial health factors as defined by National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
• this will support a culture of respect, empathy, and openness, where psychological health is an important part of workplace health
• continue the dialogue on Values and Ethics and deliver the Living our Values mandatory training

In support of the Government of Canada’s commitment to results, transparency, and accountability to Canadians, Parks Canada continues to review its human resources capacity, planning, management, business processes, systems, and tools to ensure it has robust, effective, and efficient human resources services that support program delivery to Canadians. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will:

• finalize all actions related to the Management Response and Action Plan to the 2018 Parks Canada Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Audit and shift action to support implementation of the 2024 OHS Accountability Framework, ensuring that strong structures are included and/or built to reinforce roles and responsibilities and support monitoring and compliance
• continue the implementation of its Human Resources Modernization Framework, working towards continued automation of human resources business processes
• this will include the implementation of new systems and applications, such as a learning management system, and a transition to a modernized HR management system, as well as promoting further adoption of enterprise solutions for human resources information management, service request management, and reporting
• review end-to-end HR-to-Pay process and increase monitoring of adherence to service standards to support accurate and timely pay of employees
• reinforce usage of the HR service desk (JIRA) for staffing actions and expend to other type of transactions to improve service delivery times and increase efficiency
• continue to support the review of functional and organizational models
• strengthen its human resources reporting capacity by initiating the development of a Human Resources Data Management Strategy to strengthen its data analytics capabilities and data driven decision making
• continue shifting to a talent acquisition approach through collaborative efforts with HR specialists and managers to uphold anticipatory recruitment and marketing strategies

Financial management services

Parks Canada is committed to strengthening its financial management framework to improve transparency, accountability, and strategic decision-making. A strong foundation in financial management practices and processes will support greater integration of financial, business and investment planning. This will enable effective resource allocation, budgeting, forecasting and spending on a timely basis to ensure the continuation of value for money in Parks Canada’s expenditures in operations and projects, and delivery of results.

In 2025-26, Parks Canada will take the following steps to advance this commitment:

• support the development and implementation of the updated Investment Management Framework to ensure resources are strategically planned and can be appropriately prioritized over multiple years to support the financial sustainability of the organization
• publish an updated Financial Management Framework and update various internal financial management directives
• continue to support the Project Management Framework through greater integration with expenditure authority control mechanisms and the advancement of business process improvements including development of a new project management system
• promote responsible long-term financial sustainability by ensuring internal collaboration and coordination of Parks Canada’s financial resources
• implement a streamlined finance functional model to ensure financial management advisory services are delivered to priority programs areas and operations by leveraging the creation of financial advisory hub services for planning, budgeting, and forecasting
• continue to improve on financial resource monitoring to provide simplified and standardized reporting and ensure availability of timely and reliable budget and forecasting information, reduce reporting burden by the financial community, and increase ability to predict and forecast on financial risks and develop mitigation strategies on a timely basis

Parks Canada will continue to modernize its financial management processes to improve and reinforce the internal control framework of its financial activities. This work will support a financial management approach that is compliant with policies, and is efficient, effective, and based on risk management principles, for both Parks Canada’s resources and related expenditures. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• apply intelligent budgetary controls by using technology to reduce administrative burden
• focus on improving organizational efficiency, including by simplifying financial workflows and ending redundant tasks to reduce administrative processing time
• work to master digital technology to automate repetitive tasks (accounting reconciliation and data entry) and develop a strategic vision founded on data analysis and rapid decision making
• integrate and connect revenue management systems to share data in real time, minimizing the need for data entry duplication
• ensure strict compliance with accounting standards to guarantee financial integrity through monitoring, strict and transparent controls, and detailed guides to financial agents

Information management and technology services

Parks Canada continues to innovate information technology and management strategies to support the delivery of its mandate and to support Government of Canada priorities. To further its work in this area, in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada will:

• evolve cybersecurity management practices, service management, data integration and management, and governing frameworks and policies to align with the Government of Canada Digital Ambition
• complete the Secure Cloud to Ground (SC2G) project, enabling secure access to modern digital services in the cloud
• continue to implement Microsoft 365 tools, including SharePoint Online as an enterprise information management system, and enhance the performance of video conferencing and collaboration platforms
• complete upgrades to its critical applications that support essential public safety functions, such as the Computer-Aided Dispatch and Avalanche Forecasting System
• implement a new Investment and Project Management system and an Enterprise Data Management solution which will provide a centralized platform for planning, tracking, and overseeing projects and investments
• support mobile field staff through improving network access, deploying more mobile-enabled applications, leveraging cloud solutions, and allowing remote access to internal systems such as human resource management tools
• continue the modernization of phone solutions for field offices to support front line service delivery to Canadians
• support a hybrid work environment by evolving the information management and information technology assets, tools, services, and support required by team members to collaborate virtually with colleagues and stakeholders regardless of location, whether urban or remote, field, home, or office

Real property management services

Parks Canada is the largest land steward in the Government of Canada and manages one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of contemporary and built heritage assets in Canada. Its extensive network of national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national urban parks are distributed across the country as is its large, complex, and diverse portfolio of just over 18,000 built assets. Amongst others, the portfolio includes cultural heritage resources, such as fortifications and historic buildings, contemporary visitor services assets, such as campgrounds and visitor centres, and engineered assets, such as highways, bridges, municipal-type services, canals, and dams. Due to the nature of Parks Canada’s operations, these are not merely internal services, but rather program-dependent assets that provide critical services and direct benefits to Canadians, the economy, and ecosystems across the country. Starting in fiscal year 2026 to 2027, program-dependent assets will be treated under the Results and Program Inventory sections of a modernized Departmental Results Framework and in future departmental plans and departmental results reports only the plans and results of the internal services aspect of real property will be included here.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will support the management of its real property portfolio by:

• implementing its first Real Property Management Framework, in compliance with Treasury Board requirements, to provide an integrated control structure for effective and efficient real property management that directly supports the delivery of departmental programs and services to Canadians
• advancing the optimization of the real property portfolio by focusing on affordability and core assets required for the delivery of the Parks Canada mandate
• supporting a systematic approach to asset planning, maintenance, repairs and inspections to improve asset performance and sustainability
• continuing real property management efforts (for example, land acquisitions, policy guidance) to advance progress on Parks Canada commitments for the establishment and/or expansion of national parks, national marine conservation areas and national urban parks
• developing a mature, modernized land-use planning program that builds on the results of public consultations and lessons learned to date
• contributing to the Departmental Results Framework transition, including increasing visibility of assets within the performance information profiles and direct connection to program indicators and results

Materiel management services

Parks Canada manages a diverse portfolio of materiel assets distributed across programs and across its extensive network of national historic sites, national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national urban parks. It includes cultural heritage resources, such as historical objects and artifacts, contemporary materiel assets, such as program-dependent fleet (land and marine) and specialized material assets, such as equipment to enable key functions across the organization (for example, law enforcement, wildlife immobilization, avalanche control, visitor safety, and search and rescue). Parks Canada’s portfolio of materiel assets is key to the delivery of its mandate for Canadians.

In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada will continue long-term capital planning for its materiel to establish priorities and direction for future investments, including a focus on greening of Parks Canada operations, and making progress on shifting its light-duty fleet to zero-emission vehicles, in alignment with Parks Canada's 2023 to 2027 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy commitments.

Acquisition management services

Parks Canada continues to leverage procurement to achieve federal objectives such as generating socio-economic growth, supporting environmental protection, and contributing towards accessibility. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Parks Canada aims to:

• continue to meet or exceed the Government of Canada’s target of awarding 5% of federal contracts to Indigenous businesses as set out in the Planning for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Business section
• pursue approaches to increase access to federal procurement processes for small and medium-sized businesses, where possible
• continue to support greening government through the application of environmental criteria in its procurement strategies and seek out sustainable alternatives where possible
• continue to ensure that accessibility is considered in procurement activities, where applicable

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 8: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
Table 8 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource	Planned
Spending	$155,804,428
Full-time equivalents	1,133

Complete financial and human resources information for Parks Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. Federal procurement activities play a key role in meeting national socio-economic objectives.

Parks Canada’s local placement in proximity to Indigenous communities and its relationships with Indigenous partners uniquely positions Parks Canada to support the Government of Canada’s objective to increase economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Parks Canada is committed to supporting this objective by:

• actively participating in Indigenous networking opportunities and outreach activities in partnership with Procurement Assistance Canada and Indigenous Services Canada
• using contracting criteria that specifically target Indigenous businesses or to regional or local Indigenous communities in areas where Indigenous business market capacity exists
• increasing Indigenous opportunities for employment, skills development and subcontracting by including Indigenous Participation Plans in solicitations where market capacity exists
• formalize policies, guidance, and training to ensure Parks Canada staff have the knowledge and resources to successfully increase Indigenous considerations in our procurement activities
• participating in various internal and interdepartmental working groups to develop solutions to existing barriers and further expand economic opportunities for Indigenous suppliers and Indigenous community members

Parks Canada will continue to promote increased opportunities for Indigenous businesses and benefits to Indigenous communities resulting from Parks Canada contracts, through the customized application of Indigenous Procurement Plans. This includes enhancing evaluation criteria to increase Indigenous participation through subcontracting, labour and training opportunities.

Table 9: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
Table 9 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the department awarded to Indigenous businesses.

5% Reporting Field	2023‑24 Actual Result	2024‑25 Forecasted Result	2025‑26 Planned Result
Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses	10.56%	5%	5%

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of Parks Canada’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025 to 2026 with actual spending from previous years.

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Spending

This section presents an overview of the department's planned expenditures from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028.

The figures presented in this section reflect prudent financial planning based on the most current information available at the time this departmental plan was finalized, specifically, the 2025 to 2026 Main Estimates. It is important to note that Parks Canada's planned spending may evolve following the publication of this plan. Changes can result from new government priorities, the reallocation of resources, time-limited funding for special initiatives, unforeseen circumstances addressed through supplementary estimates, or longer-term funding requests to support government priorities and ensure program integrity. As part of the federal government's ongoing financial cycle, Parks Canada's operations and services to Canadians often rely on funding that is time-bound and subject to change.

Budgetary performance summary

Table 10: Three-year spending summary for core responsibility and internal services (dollars)
Table 10 presents how much money Parks Canada spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibility and for internal services. Amounts for the fiscal year just ended are forecasted before final reconciliation is completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Core responsibilities and Internal services	2022‑23 Actual Expenditures	2023‑24 Actual Expenditures	2024‑25 Forecast Spending
Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage	$1,004,574,706	$1,270,388,410	$1,165,796,024
Internal services	$152,034,335	$182,160,023	$ 172,188,418
Total	$1,156,609,041	$1,452,548,433	$1,337,984,442

Analysis of the past three years of spending

For fiscal years 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the amounts represent Parks Canada’s actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts. For fiscal year 2024 to 2025, the fiscal year just completed, the amounts represent the forecast spending which includes planned budgetary and statutory expenditures as presented in the Main and Supplementary Estimates.

The increase in spending between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 was partially due to additional funding received partway through the fiscal years for the ratification of the collective agreement, and the resulting increased salary expenditures, including retroactive payments. In 2023 to 2024, Parks Canada also incurred additional costs when responding to an unprecedented number of wildfires threatening lands and critical infrastructure in national parks and other protected areas and received $37.9 million in additional funding to support these efforts.

The forecast spending for fiscal year 2024 to 2025 is lower than the previous year primarily due to the conclusion of certain time-limited funding for capital asset investments. Additional reductions stem from measures under the Refocusing Government Spending initiative, as outlined in Parks Canada’s 2024 to 2025 Departmental Plan. Furthermore, fiscal year 2023 to 2024 included one-time costs related to the ratification of collective agreements and associated retroactive payments, which are not recurring in fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Table 11: Planned three-year spending on core responsibility and internal services (dollars)
Table 11 presents how much money Parks Canada’s plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibility and for internal services.

Core responsibility and Internal services	2025‑26 Planned Spending	2026‑27 Planned Spending	2027‑28 Planned Spending
Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage	$1,112,091,542	$1,022,538,480	$800,502,952
Internal services	$155,804,428	$141,352,684	$122,959,050
Total	$1,267,895,970	$1,163,891,164	$923,462,002

Analysis of the next three years of spending

The planned spending above reflects approved funding by Treasury Board, at the time of plan publication, to support Parks Canada’s programs. The decrease in planned spending from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 is primarily due to the end of temporary funding received by Parks Canada for specific initiatives. In fiscal years 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, this includes the end of time-limited funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, which supports the conservation of Canada’s lands and freshwater, protects species, advances Indigenous reconciliation, and increased access to nature. Another decrease is anticipated in fiscal year 2027 to 2028 due to the end of a portion of the time-limited funding Parks Canada received for capital asset investments in national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national historic sites, as well as the sunset of funding for the preliminary recovery and rebuild of Jasper National Park.

More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

 

Funding

This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

Graph 1: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period

Graph 1 summarizes the department's approved voted and statutory funding from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028.

	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28
Statutory ($ thousands)	279,768	332,619	230,353	259,114	252,492	249,061
Voted ($ thousands)	876,841	1,119,929	1,107,632	1,008,018	911,400	674,401
Total ($ thousands)	1,156,609	1,452,548	1,337,984	1,267,896	1,163,891	923,462

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

The chart above reflects Treasury Board approved funding to support Parks Canada’s programs over a six-year horizon. The decrease in planned spending from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 is primarily due to the end of temporary funding received by Parks Canada for specific initiatives. In fiscal years 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, this includes the end of time-limited funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, which supports the conservation of Canada’s lands and freshwater, protects species, advances Indigenous reconciliation, and increased access to nature. Another decrease is anticipated in fiscal year 2027 to 2028 due to the end of a portion of the time-limited funding Parks Canada received for capital asset investments in national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national historic sites, as well as the sunset of funding for the preliminary recovery and rebuild of Jasper National Park.

For further information on Parks Canada’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2025 to 2026 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of Parks Canada’s operations for fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Table 12: Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)
Table 12 summarizes the expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers for fiscal year 2024 to 2025 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026. The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

Financial information	2024‑25 Forecast results	2025‑26 Planned results	Difference (planned results minus forecasted)
Total expenses	$1,339,160,071	$1,251,304,723	$(87,855,348)
Total revenues	$223,400,000	$209,280,152	$(14,119,848)
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	$1,115,760,071	$1,042,024,571	$(73,735,500)

Analysis of forecasted and planned results

The net cost of operations is planned to decrease by $73.7 million in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 from $1,115.7 million to $1,042.0 million. The decrease in planned spending in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 is due to several factors impacting Parks Canada’s funding levels, the largest is a decrease in time-limited funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, as described above. The decline in revenues for the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year, amounting to $14.1 million compared to the 2024-25 period, is mainly due to a reduction in operational activities within Jasper National Park resulting from the impact of wildfires.

Please note that the forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2025 to 2026, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on Parks Canada’s website.

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028.

Table 13: Actual human resources for core responsibility and internal services
Table 13 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents, for Parks Canada’s core responsibility and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

Core responsibilities and internal services	2022‑23 Actual full-time equivalents	2023‑24 Actual full-time equivalents	2024‑25 Forecasted full-time equivalents
Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage	4,834	4,978	4,988
Internal services	1,067	1,160	1,158
Total	5,901	6,138	6,146

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

The full-time-equivalent increase in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 is primarily related to new full-time equivalents to address key priorities such as supporting additional business planning capability, increasing capacity for monitoring and governance to support Parks Canada's real property and asset functions and new national protected area establishments. It also includes temporary increased capacity to comply with new policy requirements.

Table 14: Human resources planning summary for core responsibility and internal services
Table 14 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents, for Parks Canada’s core responsibility and for its internal services planned for the next three years.

Core responsibilities and internal services	2025‑26 Planned full-time equivalents	2026‑27 Planned full-time equivalents	2027‑28 Planned full-time equivalents
Protecting and presenting Canada’s natural and cultural heritage	4,897	4,425	4,300
Internal services	1,133	1,031	985
Total	6,030	5,456	5,285

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

The decrease in planned full-time equivalents from fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 is primarily due to the end of temporary funding received by Parks Canada for specific initiatives. In fiscal years 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, this includes the end of time-limited funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, which supports the conservation Canada’s lands and freshwater, protection of species, advancement of Indigenous reconciliation, and increased access to nature. An additional decrease is anticipated in fiscal year 2027 to 2028 due to the end of a portion of the time-limited funding Parks Canada received for capital asset investments in national parks, national marine conservation areas and national historic sites, as well as the sunset of funding for the preliminary recovery and rebuild of Jasper National Park. Parks Canada remains committed to engaging early and collaboratively with labour partners to manage workforce impacts responsibly and to support affected employees through this transition.

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister(s):

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head:

Ron Hallman, President & Chief Executive Officer

Ministerial portfolio:

Canadian Identity and Culture

Enabling instrument(s):

• Parks Canada Agency Act
• Canada National Parks Act
• Rouge National Urban Park Act
• Historic Sites and Monuments Act
• Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act
• Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act
• Historic Canal Regulations pursuant to the Department of Transport Act
• Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act
• Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act
• Species at Risk Act

Year of incorporation / commencement:

1998

Departmental contact information

Parks Canada National Office

30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec
Canada
J8X 0B3

General Inquiries

1-888-773-8888

General Inquiries (International)

1-819-420-9486

Teletypewriter (TTY)

866-787-6221

Email

information@pc.gc.ca

Website

parks.canada.ca

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Parks Canada’s website:

• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender‑based analysis plus

Information on Parks Canada’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on Parks Canada’s website.

Federal tax expenditures

Parks Canada’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

 

Definitions

List of terms

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.