CA Gov
On February 10, 2025, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that over $12.2 million from the Environmental Damages Fund will be used to benefit 22 projects that will focus on restoring or improving the natural environment, improving environmental quality, and research and development leading to restoration.
The projects were selected following a call for applications that was launched in May 2023. The funding, through the Environmental Damages Fund, comes from fines, penalties, court orders, and voluntary payments in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Since 1995, more than $240 million has been invested in over 560 projects benefiting ecosystems and communities across Canada.
| Recipient | Total | Project description |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | ||
| Swim Drink Fish Canada | $356,475 | This project will address sewage pollution, improving fish health in the Strawberry and Beaverhill sub‑watersheds of the North Saskatchewan River. It will do this by engaging the community in monitoring water quality, developing new tools to support community-based water monitoring programs, and identifying specific rivers and regions for remediation and stewardship. |
| Alberta Invasive Species Council | $2,157,907 | This project aims to protect Sturgeon Lake habitat and the sub-watersheds of the North Saskatchewan River from aquatic invasive species. This will be accomplished by increasing education and awareness of land managers, advancing research, and preventing and managing invasive species. |
| North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance Society | $1,188,250 | This project will research and demonstrate the feasibility of alternative approaches to restoring fish habitat by developing a natural asset management and monitoring program in the Whitemud Creek and Blackmud Creek watershed in Edmonton. |
| VIDEA | $1,349,092 | This project will promote environmental stewardship by working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to develop and implement a community-led, culturally sensitive fish habitat restoration plan for areas of the North Saskatchewan River. |
| British Columbia | ||
| Kitselas Five Tier System LP | $900,000 | This project will support community-led and community-driven fish and fish habitat monitoring and conservation in communities near Terrace, British Columbia. |
| Kitsumkalum Indian Band | $1,641,987 | This project will conserve fish and restore fish habitat and migratory passages impacted by rail and highway infrastructure between Terrace and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. |
| Nova Scotia | ||
| Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation | $114,000 | This project aims to restore degraded aquatic habitat in the LaHave River watershed in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, to support native fish species such as the Southern Upland Atlantic salmon, the brook trout, and the American eel. |
| The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq | $72,143 | This project will preserve vital cold-water habitats important to the life cycles of fish in the non-tidal portion of the main stem of the River Philip, Nova Scotia. It will do this by improving habitat based on water-quality data collection and analysis and by engaging the public in habitat restoration activities. |
| Ontario | ||
| Niagara Peninsula Conversation Authority | $115,650 | This project aims to restore brook trout spawning and rearing habitat in the Upper Twelve Mile Creek watershed in Pelham, Ontario, by eliminating stream bank erosion, creating pools downstream to serve as fish refuge habitat, and creating an interpretive nature trail. |
| The Corporation of the City of Brampton | $251,750 | This project is focused on improving water quality, restoring degraded aquatic and terrestrial habitats, fostering community engagement, and raising awareness for Donnelly Ponds in the Etobicoke Creek watershed in Brampton, Ontario. |
| The Halton Region Conservation Authority | $198,075 | This project aims to improve overall fish and wildlife habitat by restoring the natural form and function of Bronte Creek in the Carlisle Conservation Area in Hamilton, Ontario. |
| Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association | $102,015 | This project will restore in-stream and shoreline habitat in Grimesthorpe Creek, Manitowaning, using nature-based solutions to improve water quality, reduce harmful nutrients, and remove pollutants. |
| Prince Edward Island | ||
| The Native Council of Prince Edward Island | $49,250 | This project will improve fish habitat within the St. Chrysostome Wildlife Management Area of the Native Council of Prince Edward Island, while making the adjacent wetland area more resilient to climate storm events. |
| Quebec | ||
| Nature Action Québec Inc. | $71,250 | The goal of this project is to restore the riparian environment and protect wildlife habitats along the banks of the rivière des Prairies river at the parc du Chevalier-Cuivré. The project will also highlight the benefits of natural environments to encourage public engagement and ensure the sustainability of the efforts invested. |
| Fondation Ruisseau Bouchard | $71,250 | This project aims to improve the health of the Bouchard stream by encouraging residents, businesses, and students in the area to take action to limit negative impacts on the stream. |
| Société pour Vaincre la pollution | $164,304 | This project will carry out citizen monitoring of local industrial air pollutant deposits in lakes and streams that serve as fish habitat in the Rouyn region. |
| Centre de réhabilitation Le Nichoir Inc. | $117,700 | This project seeks to improve oil spill outcomes for migratory birds and other affected species by training wildlife professionals in Quebec, and by building a model aquatic aviary to serve as a bird rehabilitation site. |
| Mohawk Council of Kahnawke - Kahnawake | $71,250 | This project will plan for the management of invasive buckthorn in the Big Fence area, replant native species to restore the ecosystem, and foster education and community engagement. |
| Saskatchewan | ||
| University of Saskatchewan | $274,500 | This project will involve research to test whether fish are suffering from disease at sites affected by the 2016 Husky Oil Spill along the North Saskatchewan River. This will help determine if there are lingering contaminants from the spill and whether fish are eating contaminated local prey or clean migratory prey arriving from wetlands. |
| Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Association | $1,219,900 | This project will restore shoreline habitat along areas of the North Saskatchewan River within the Redberry Lake Biosphere region. |
| X-terra Environmental Services Ltd. | $800,000 | This project will assess the impacts of the 2016 Husky Oil Spill along the White Buffalo Ranch shoreline of the North Saskatchewan River to develop a restoration plan and revive the cultural heritage and traditional practices in the area. |
| Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds Inc. | $935,600 | This project will restore the environment and support wildlife conservation within the North Saskatchewan River watershed in the City of North Battleford, Saskatchewan. |
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