Parks Canada
Parks Canada (French: Parcs Canada),[NB 1] is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, three National Marine Conservation Areas, 172 National Historic Sites, one National Urban Park (Rouge National Urban Park), and one National Landmark (Pingo Canadian Landmark). Parks Canada is mandated to "protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations".[2]
Agency overview
May 19, 1911
Government of Canada
4,666 (March 2021)
$1.3 billion (2020–21)
- Ron Hallman, Chief Executive Officer
The agency also administers lands and waters set aside as potential national parklands, including 10 National Park Reserves and one National Marine Conservation Area Reserve. More than 450,000 km2 (170,000 sq mi) of lands and waters in national parks and national marine conservation areas has been set aside for such purposes.[3] Parks Canada cooperatively manages a large majority of their protected areas and heritage sites with Indigenous partners.[4][5] The Canadian Register of Historic Places is supported and managed by the agency, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and other federal bodies. The agency is also the working arm of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board, which recommends National Historic Sites, Events, and Persons.
The minister of environment and climate change (Steven Guilbeault since 2021) is responsible for the agency, and it is managed by its chief executive officer (Ron Hallman since 2019). The agency's budget was $1.3 billion in the 2020–2021 fiscal year and it employed 4,666 public servants in March 2021.[6]
History[edit]
Parks Canada was established on May 19, 1911, as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior, becoming the world's first national park service.[7] Since its creation, its name has changed, known variously as the Dominion Parks Branch, National Parks Branch, Parks Canada, Environment Canada – Parks Branch, and the Canadian Parks Service, before a return to Parks Canada in 1998. The service's activities are regulated under legislation such as the Canada National Parks Act, and the Parks Canada Agency Act, which established the current legal incorporation of the agency in 1998.[8]
To mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, Parks Canada offered free passes[9] to national parks and national historic sites for the year.
The Department of Canadian Heritage, which runs federal Museums, and heritage and cultural programming, falls under the control of the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
