The new agreement between Canada and the Northwest Territories will help build a foundation for a conservation-based economy in which sustainable jobs and communities can thrive.
Yellowknife, NWT—The government of Canada and the the Government of the Northwest Territories recently signed a ten-year funding agreement that will support nature conservation with Indigenous governments and will help advance the NWT Our Land for the Future Agreement.
This agreement is expected to help build a foundation for a conservation-based economy in which sustainable jobs and communities can thrive. It also highlights the importance of continued partnerships between Canada and the GNWT to advance shared priorities with Indigenous governments.
Under the agreement, the NWT government said it will work with Indigenous governments and organizations toward protecting and conserving six percent of the territory by 2028. The agreement includes the potential to protect up to 9.6 percent of the NWT by 2035.
The governments have agreed to invest $7 million during the first fiscal year of the agreement, which is 2025-26. The federal government has committed to invest up to $20 million in the agreement.
Those figures appeared to be on top of existing conservation efforts and targets agreed in other deals, such as the giant $375-million public-private Project Finance for Permanence agreement signed in November, 2024.
According to the two governments, more than 15.8 percent of land and water in the NWT is already conserved.
"This agreement reaffirms our commitment to protecting the Northwest Territories' natural heritage while ensuring [that] Indigenous leadership is at the forefront of conservation efforts," said Jay Macdonald, the NWT's environment minister. "Through our partnerships with Canada, Indigenous governments and wildlife co-management partners, we are taking decisive action to safeguard biodiversity, strengthen environmental stewardship, and create new opportunities for northerners and for communities across the territory."
The Canada–Northwest Territories Nature Agreement charts the path for ongoing work to benefit species at risk, biodiversity, and migratory birds and their habitat on territorial lands.
Activities include developing wildlife conservation plans, identifying and addressing potential threats to wildlife, and advancing work with Indigenous governments and other co-management partners on the recovery of barren-ground caribou, wood bison, and other priority species.
Canada was a leader in establishing the historic Kunming–Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, which included a global target to conserve 30 percent of the world's land and water by 2030, as well as recognizing and supporting the critical role of Indigenous communities in halting biodiversity loss. The Canada–Northwest Territories Nature Agreement contributes to both federal priorities. Canada has already signed similar nature agreements with other jurisdictions, such as Nova Scotia and the Yukon.
