Statement on Manitoba Government and Oceans North Announcement of Funding to Explore Establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area in Hudson Bay

In response to the February 3, 2026 Manitoba Government and Oceans North Announcement on of Funding to Explore Establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area in Hudson Bay, we are pleased to see funding announced to explore the establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in western Hudson Bay.

This remarkable region is home to a third of the world’s beluga whales. It is an important habitat for polar bears, whose populations are being threatened by climate change, and migratory birds that stop over before crossing continents. This is only but a few of the many species that call this ecologically significant marine environment home.

Key to the NMCA’s success is Indigenous-led stewardship and local support. It is encouraging to see the involvement of York Factory First Nation and the Town of Churchill from the outset.

This designation could help maintain and enhance local livelihoods, bolster the region’s tourism industry, create new jobs and bring infrastructure investments while maintaining safe, clean habitat for bears, belugas and birds.

We commend the work of other environmental organizations, such as CPAWS Manitoba Chapter and Oceans North who have also worked to get this process started.

That said this is a relatively small investment from the Government of Manitoba, with $50,000 in funds and a further $200,000 in in-kind support being provided, and the lands are not officially protected yet. Oceans North is contributing four times as much as the province of Manitoba.

If the Manitoban and Canadian governments are serious about protecting 30 percent of lands by 2030 (as they have both promised to do) we need much more leadership and investment. Only around 11 percent of Manitoba’s lands are protected as present. There is much work to do to protect a further 19 percent in the next four years.

There are also concomitant threats, such as the Port of Churchill plus project, that threaten to disrupt the habitat of polar bears, belugas and birds. The Premier has recently announced that Manitoba is in discussions with a major energy company to potentially build a pipeline to the Port of Churchill.

The Wildlife Conservation Society Canada recently released a National Peatland Strategy highlighing that peatlands across Canada store a total of 150 billion tonnes of carbon. There is no scenario where a pipeline to the Port of Churchill does not run through peatland-rich areas known as “muskeg.”