The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada’s only charity dedicated to the protection of public land, freshwater and ocean with a strong national and regional presence across the country. Working in a way that respects the sovereignty and leadership of Indigenous nations, they are focused on conserving nature to respond to the dual crises of accelerated biodiversity loss and climate change.
With almost 60 years of success, they are Canada’s leader in conservation and have played a lead role in protecting over half a million square kilometres – an area bigger than the entire Yukon Territory! Their vision is that at least half of land, freshwater and ocean in Canada is permanently protected to sustain nature and people for current and future generations.
Header image photo credit: Peter Mather
CPAWS has been one of MEC’s key partners since 1988, and we work with their national and regional teams to help increase protection of natural spaces where we all play. The relationship began with MEC donating to CPAWS’ conservation campaigns and has blossomed into a long-term partnership that’s resulted in many successful projects, including initiatives to help develop parklands across the country. Over the last two decades, MEC has become an important partner for CPAWS.
In 2022, and with MEC’s continued support, CPAWS is launching a national campaign to call on all governments in Canada to work with partners to protect at least 30% of the country’s land and ocean by 2030, connect protected areas across the country, and respect the sovereignty and leadership of Indigenous nations.
