Manitoba's Parks

National Parks are a nation-wide system of representative natural areas of Canadian significance. They are protected for public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment, while being maintained in an unimpaired state for present and future generations. The national parks system is currently made up of 40 National Parks/National Park Reserves and 3 National Marine Conservation Areas.

A National Park Reserve is an area set aside as a national park pending settlement of outstanding aboriginal land claims. National Marine Conservation Areas are areas managed for sustainable use and containing smaller zones of high protection. They include the seabed, the water above it and any species within.

Administered by Parks Canada, the national parks system is enforced by the Canada National Parks Act (2000) and An Act Respecting the National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada (2000). Under law, the “ecological integrity” of the area must be the first priority in all decisions affecting parks management. Ecological integrity is a condition where the structure and function of an ecosystem are unimpaired by human activity and are likely to persist.

A national parks system plan was devised in the early 1970s. Its fundamental principle was to protect a representative sample of each of Canada’s landscapes. In order to guide the development of the system, Canada was divided into 39 national park natural regions, each a distinct combination of physical and biological characteristics. This system is currently just over 60% completed. Parks Canada has also identified 29 marine regions. As Parks Canada’s goal is to represent each of the natural and marine regions, establishment of new national parks and national marine conservations areas are focused on unrepresented regions.

Click picture for magnified view of Expanding Canada’s System of National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas

Did you know that there are two national parks and one proposed national park in Manitoba?

Manitoba's Provincial Parks

Forested Ridge, Whiteshell Provincial Park
by Ian Ward

In Manitoba, the words “park” and “protected” are not synonymous. Many provincial parks are open for mining while industrial logging is taking place in Duck Mountain provincial park. CPAWS Manitoba is working to restore the ecological health of our parks issue-by-issue and over the long haul. CPAWS actively participates in the ongoing process to create new provincial park management plans and is working to phase out resource extraction.

CPAWS focuses on two general aspects of provincial parks: management of existing parks and establishment of new protected areas. One way for you to learn more and get involved on parks related issues is to become a member of CPAWS Manitoba’s provincial parks committee.

Moose, by Richard Caners

This Section Includes:

New report: Traditional aboriginal knowledge key to Boreal Forest conservation

The report, Conservation Value of the North American Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective, describes the deep botanical and ecological knowledge that Canada's Aboriginal peoples have gained over thousands of years of using the Boreal Forest as grocery, pharmacy, school, and spiritual centre.