Canada’s biodiversity is in decline. Globally, climate change, urbanization, overexploitation of resources and habitat loss are combining to drive biodiversity loss across all ecosystems.

The recent biodiversity assessment of the Americas, from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, documents these trends. Domestically, the 2024 State of Canada’s Birds Report points to falling bird populations over time, while a 2020 World Wildlife Fund report emphasized similar declines across the full range of plants, animals and other living organisms in Canada.

Put simply, Canada’s efforts to reverse this decline are not succeeding.

There is a foundational reason for our subpar progress in conserving biodiversity: the poor state of biodiversity law in Canada.

Laws matter. They codify societal values and priorities, define acceptable behaviours and establish the government programs and institutions needed to tackle complex problems. Canadian biodiversity law is neither meeting today’s challenges nor positioning us for the future.

Federally, biodiversity laws include: the Fisheries Act (1868); Migratory Birds Convention Act (1917); Canada National Parks Act (CNPA, 1930);

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