Carney’s $3.8B Nature Plan Calls for Additional Private Capital, Drawing Criticism
April 1, 2026
Reading time: 3 minutes
Full Story: The Energy Mix
Chris Bonasia
Pierre Grey's Lakes, Grande Cache, Alberta/Jody MacPherson
Nature conservation groups are weighing in with mixed reactions to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s $3.8-billion nature protection strategy unveiled on Tuesday, with some calling it pragmatic and others criticizing its reliance on market mechanisms.
Carney announced the new plan, A Force of Nature, in Wakefield, Quebec, replacing the previous five-year, $2.3-billion Nature Legacy Fund that expired the same day. The strategy sets out to protect 30% of land and 28% of ocean area by 2030, support infrastructure projects that “work with nature rather than against it,” and deploy “finance tools to fund conservation.” The strategy emphasizes a role for Indigenous leadership, allocating $231 million over five years to enhance Indigenous Guardians programs, and includes the creation of two new national protected areas and expanded conservation action.
Some of the conserved areas highlighted in the strategy are the Seal River Watershed National Park Reserve in Manitoba and the Wiinipaakw Indigenous Protected Area and National Marine Conservation Area in Eastern James Bay. Working landscapes—which the strategy describes as delivering conservation and biodiversity results “while meeting other primary objectives”—include the Salt Spring Island Natural Cemetery in British Columbia, Canadian Forces Base Shilo in south-central Manitoba, and the Queen’s University Biological Station in southeastern Ontario.
The plan also relies in part on private investment. “We can’t do it with public money alone,” Carney said in Wakefield.
The new strategy was kept under wraps until the last minute, leaving conservation groups anxious and guessing, The Hill Times reported.
“Frankly, it did feel before the last 24 hours that maybe nature was literally going to fall through the cracks,” Sierra Club Canada Executive Director Gretchen Fitzgerald told The Energy Mix.
The Sierra Club said in a release it was “cautiously pleased” with the new plan, but also raised concerns about its reliance on market-based approaches, cuts to other environmental initiatives, and the federal government’s potential billion-dollar involvement in the Bay du Nord offshore oil project, which could undermine nature protection.
The Wilderness Committee said the strategy was an attempt to fit conservation commitments into Carney’s “larger push to fast-track resource extraction and large industrial developments.” The group said the government plans to map biodiversity hotspots specifically to “accelerate permitting,” adding that “zero additional detail” was provided on how Ottawa plans to mobilize private capital and financing tools.
Other organizations said entangling the strategy with private investment opens the door to greenwashing. Andrew Van Iterson, manager of the Green Budget Coalition, told The Globe and Mail that while “private sector funds provide an important opportunity,” the Coalition is “very wary and concerned” that the government may be overestimating its role.
But Teika Newton, executive director of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, told The Mix that while there are various conservation approaches the government could take, “this seems like the most pragmatic path forward” at this time. “I welcome the focus of attention on nature and the environment, at last.”
Newton highlighted investments for enhanced monitoring and data collection that she said will be important for tracking success. But she also cautioned against relying on regional impact assessments for major projects, pointing to examples such as Ontario’s Bill 5, which streamlined environmental reviews while weakening oversight.
Fitzgerald too expressed support for the strategy’s new level of investment. The plan to establish new urban parks is exciting as an approach for “connecting people to nature in their community,” as well as co-benefits for livable, walkable, breathable communities, she added.
But she cautioned against the government’s Bay du Nord commitment while also warning that the new strategy could come into conflict with priorities of the Building Canada Act.
“I’m just a bit concerned that we’re not having a comprehensive approach here with climate and nature, and the two are very interrelated,” Fitzgerald told The Mix.
Pierre Grey's Lakes, Grande Cache, Alberta/Jody MacPherson
Nature conservation groups are weighing in with mixed reactions to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s $3.8-billion nature protection strategy unveiled on Tuesday, with some calling it pragmatic and others criticizing its reliance on market mechanisms.
Carney announced the new plan, A Force of Nature, in Wakefield, Quebec, replacing the previous five-year, $2.3-billion Nature Legacy Fund that expired the same day. The strategy sets out to protect 30% of land and 28% of ocean area by 2030, support infrastructure projects that “work with nature rather than against it,” and deploy “finance tools to fund conservation.” The strategy emphasizes a role for Indigenous leadership, allocating $231 million over five years to enhance Indigenous Guardians programs, and includes the creation of two new national protected areas and expanded conservation action.
Some of the conserved areas highlighted in the strategy are the Seal River Watershed National Park Reserve in Manitoba and the Wiinipaakw Indigenous Protected Area and National Marine Conservation Area in Eastern James Bay. Working landscapes—which the strategy describes as delivering conservation and biodiversity results “while meeting other primary objectives”—include the Salt Spring Island Natural Cemetery in British Columbia, Canadian Forces Base Shilo in south-central Manitoba, and the Queen’s University Biological Station in southeastern Ontario.
The plan also relies in part on private investment. “We can’t do it with public money alone,” Carney said in Wakefield.
The new strategy was kept under wraps until the last minute, leaving conservation groups anxious and guessing, The Hill Times reported.
“Frankly, it did feel before the last 24 hours that maybe nature was literally going to fall through the cracks,” Sierra Club Canada Executive Director Gretchen Fitzgerald told The Energy Mix.
The Sierra Club said in a release it was “cautiously pleased” with the new plan, but also raised concerns about its reliance on market-based approaches, cuts to other environmental initiatives, and the federal government’s potential billion-dollar involvement in the Bay du Nord offshore oil project, which could undermine nature protection.
The Wilderness Committee said the strategy was an attempt to fit conservation commitments into Carney’s “larger push to fast-track resource extraction and large industrial developments.” The group said the government plans to map biodiversity hotspots specifically to “accelerate permitting,” adding that “zero additional detail” was provided on how Ottawa plans to mobilize private capital and financing tools.
Other organizations said entangling the strategy with private investment opens the door to greenwashing. Andrew Van Iterson, manager of the Green Budget Coalition, told The Globe and Mail that while “private sector funds provide an important opportunity,” the Coalition is “very wary and concerned” that the government may be overestimating its role.
But Teika Newton, executive director of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, told The Mix that while there are various conservation approaches the government could take, “this seems like the most pragmatic path forward” at this time. “I welcome the focus of attention on nature and the environment, at last.”
Newton highlighted investments for enhanced monitoring and data collection that she said will be important for tracking success. But she also cautioned against relying on regional impact assessments for major projects, pointing to examples such as Ontario’s Bill 5, which streamlined environmental reviews while weakening oversight.
Fitzgerald too expressed support for the strategy’s new level of investment. The plan to establish new urban parks is exciting as an approach for “connecting people to nature in their community,” as well as co-benefits for livable, walkable, breathable communities, she added.
But she cautioned against the government’s Bay du Nord commitment while also warning that the new strategy could come into conflict with priorities of the Building Canada Act.
“I’m just a bit concerned that we’re not having a comprehensive approach here with climate and nature, and the two are very interrelated,” Fitzgerald told The Mix.