Our Water & Ocean

Q&A with Minister Diane Lebouthillier Mediaplanet sat down with the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier to learn more about her 2024 strategic priorities.

Can you outline the government of Canada's efforts to protect Canada's oceans?

Canada is home to hardworking fish harvesters and processors who continue the proud tradition of producing some of the best quality fish and seafood products in the world, contributing to food security and a multi-billion-dollar industry.

But as we know, the challenges they are facing are numerous. And with climate change and the resulting warming of the oceans, everything is changing underwater right now.

Our oceans play a central role in regulating the Earth’s climate, and if we don’t protect them, we will not have any fish left to catch. That's one of the many reasons why our government is working to protect 30 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2030.

Canada’s efforts must also be coordinated with the rest of the world through initiatives like the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework landed at COP15 in Montreal (2022). Through this, 195 countries agreed to protect 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. On March 5th, 2024, Minister Lebouthillier signed, on behalf of Canada, the “High-Seas Treaty” to adhere to a coordinated approach to establishing marine protected areas on the high seas beyond national jurisdiction.

Since 2015, Canada went from protecting less than one per cent of its oceans to over 14.6 per cent, by working closely with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments, and other partners.

These commitments continue to be a priority, spearheaded by investments of up to $800 million over seven years to support up to four Indigenous-led conservation initiatives (2022) through the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP), and $976.8 million over five years to establish additional Marine protected areas (MPAs) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures, such as marine refuges (2021).

While negotiations continue for all four PFP, in October 2023, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, signed an agreement-in-principle with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association to create and support MPAs in Nunavut through the Inuit-led Qikiqtani PFP.

The same month, Minister Lebouthillier signed the Letter of Intent for Cooperation on Pikialasorsuaq with her Greenlandic counterpart, Kalistat Lund. The Letter of Intent will allow for the implementation of a joint steering committee across Canada and Greenland for the conservation of Pikialasorsuaq Arctic polynya.

Our government is also investing to address gear loss through the Ghost Gear Program. Launched in 2020, this program has supported over 135 projects and helped retrieve:

• 2,214 tonnes of lost gear

• 35,329 units of gear

• 857 kilometres of rope

And, after years of neglect by the previous government, Canada has removed 584 abandoned boats since 2017 under the Oceans Protection Plan (2016), the largest investment ever made to protect Canada’s coasts and waterways.

Finally, we’re tackling illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to maintain sustainable fisheries around the globe. In October 2023, DFO Fishery officers successfully completed the first Canadian-led high seas patrol to detect and deter IUU fishing in the North-Pacific alongside the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Work to protect Canada’s oceans must and will continue. We owe it to future generations to ensure that they have healthy oceans and can continue to fish and enjoy seafood products across the country.