The evidence is clear. The solutions exist. What happens next is a choice.
Canada’s Wildlife Is in Decline
Canada is often defined by nature. From the Atlantic coastline to the boreal forest, from prairie grasslands to Pacific rainforests, our landscapes and wildlife are woven into our national identity. They are why people travel here, why communities thrive, and why many of us feel a deep sense of belonging to our country.
But beneath those postcard views, something is quietly going wrong.
The findings in the World Wildlife Fund Canada’s Living Planet Report Canada 2025 are stark. Wildlife populations across the country are declining at the fastest average rate recorded since reporting began nearly two decades ago. Animals, plants, and fungi are disappearing at a pace that should concern every Canadian.
Nature Is More Than Scenery
When nature declines, we all feel the consequences.
We depend on nature in fundamental ways. Globally, billions rely on wood for energy, and nature-inspired compounds for natural medicines and life-saving drugs. About 75 per cent of crops rely on pollinators to produce the foods many of us take for granted. As species decline, these systems weaken, putting our food security at risk. The health of our natural world is inseparable from the health of our communities.
The Limits of Protection Alone
On paper, Canada seems well-positioned to succeed. We are second in the world for remaining wilderness. We have protected areas, conservation laws, and a national commitment to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. And yet, more than one in five species in Canada is now at some level of risk of extinction.
Much of Canadian conservation has focused on protecting land and water, which is essential. But with more than 80,000 species and one in five at risk, habitat protection alone is no longer enough.
Across the country, scientists have identified more than 320 species for which habitat protection alone will not prevent extinction. These species face challenges such as extremely small or fragmented populations, or historic declines that have pushed them beyond the point where nature can recover without help. Without targeted intervention, some could disappear within a single generation.
Empty Forests and Silent Extinctions
Species are being pushed to the brink, or past it, by habitat fragmentation, unsustainable harvesting, climate change, and other pressures. The landscape may look intact, but the life within it has been hollowed out, a phenomenon known as ‘empty forest syndrome’.
It is a silent loss, easy to miss until it is too late.
Proof That Recovery Works
Canada has proven that species-focused recovery works. The Vancouver Island marmot, found nowhere else on Earth, fell to fewer than 30 individuals in the wild by 2003. Today, thanks to coordinated conservation breeding, reintroduction, and long-term collaboration, the wild population has grown to approximately 427 marmots across 37 colonies. Once nearly silenced, their high-pitched whistles now echo again across the mountaintops — a reminder of what is possible when we decide extinction is not an option.
Success like this is not an accident. It required deliberate decisions to intervene directly on behalf of species at risk and the leadership to coordinate actions at scale.
The Wilder Canada Action Plan
The lessons learned from the Vancouver Island marmot and other species can be applied nationally. Species such as the Atlantic Whitefish, endemic to Nova Scotia, have populations too small or fragmented to recover without targeted action. Some already have limited recovery programs, but what they need most now is coordinated, collaborative, and sustained action.
This is the thinking behind the Wilder Canada Action Plan, an ambitious national-scale approach to species recovery led by the Wilder Institute. The plan builds on decades of conservation science and practical experience to support actions such as conservation translocations — the careful movement of plants and animals to rebuild wild populations. This is about giving species a second chance to thrive where they belong.
For more than 270 species requiring active intervention, the plan will guide coordinated recovery planned and implemented with the leadership of Indigenous nations, local communities, NGOs, and other partners. Success will be measured by the number of species benefiting from translocations and by slowing or stopping population decline. Over the next decade, 30 to 60 species currently receiving little or no recovery support will be directly assisted.
People at the Heart of Conservation
Conservation cannot succeed if it rests solely on governments or a handful of organizations. Sustainable progress requires community partnerships, Indigenous leadership, knowledge sharing, and the empowerment of everyday people, as well as government action, to engage in conservation across Canada.
The Wilder Canada Action Plan will enable communities to act by providing training, sharing expertise, and mentoring partners to co-develop recovery programs. Together, these sustainable, collaborative actions are making a tangible difference.
A Call to Action for Canada
Canada has committed, through its 2030 Nature Strategy and global agreements like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to halt species extinction and reduce biodiversity loss. Meeting those goals requires transformative change. Not more studies of risk. Not more delay. Action.
The choice before us is clear. We can stay on our current path and accept a quieter, emptier future. Or we can decide that the wildlife that has shaped this country is worth fighting for.
Protecting nature is not a luxury. It is an investment in our shared future, our economy, our identity, and our responsibility to generations yet to come.
The alarm is sounding. We still have time to act.
Learn how you can help make Canada wilder.
