Regions
The Atlantic region, located on Canada’s east coast, is home to 40,000 kilometers of beautiful coastline. It is home to numerous lakes, wetlands and rivers, and several species unique to this area. In many ways the Atlantic region is defined by the water that surrounds it, and as a result, much of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s work here focuses on water and how it shapes the communities, lives and livelihoods here. The region includes the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador, each with its own unique character and attributes.
Much of our work supports national priorities to protect and conserve the environment. We focus on weather prediction, clean air and water programs, species at risk and birds oiled at sea, environmental protection and pollution prevention, emergency response for coastal and offshore incidents, shellfish sanitation monitoring, environmental assessments and the preservation of important ecosystems, such as Sable Island. The region is also home to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
The Atlantic region employs over 500 people based in 12 buildings located in Dartmouth and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Sackville, Fredericton, and Moncton New Brunswick; Mount Pearl, Gander, Stephenville, Lewisporte, Corner Brook, and Goose Bay, Newfoundland; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The largest is the Queen Square building in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, which houses 300 of the department’s regional staff.
The Quebec region covers approximately 1.7 million hectares and is home to 54 Aboriginal communities throughout the region. The region includes close to one million lakes and waterways and is home to several species at risk, such as the piping plover of the melodus subspecies, the woodland caribou (population in the Gaspésie – Atlantic), the spiny softshell turtle and the butternut. The region also has eight national wildlife areas, including Cap Tourmente, a important international wetland known for its trails and twenty-eight migratory bird sanctuaries.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has more than 900 employees in Quebec at ten offices in Montréal, Dorval, Rimouski and Québec City, the site of the Regional Office.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s specific activities in the Quebec region include the Canada Meteorological Centre, the Biosphère and its awareness and educational activities and the St. Lawrence Plan, a Canada‑Quebec program dedicated to the protection, conservation and reclamation of the St. Lawrence.
In the Ontario region, Environment Canada delivers national programs tailored to respond to regional and local issues such as the restoration, protection and conservation of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.
We help to implement the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) Respecting the Great Lakes, the Lake Simcoe-Southeastern Georgian Bay Clean-up Fund and the Great Lakes Nutrient Initiative. Ontario region staff also represents Environment Canada in bi-national, national, regional and local partnerships.
Home to the largest group of scientists studying atmospheric pollution in Canada, the Ontario region has more than 1100 employees working from 16 sites to deliver programs and services across the province. Although our regional headquarters is located in Toronto, our staff also work at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW) in Burlington, the largest freshwater research facility in the country.
This is the largest of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s regions, and covers Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Many Canadian jewels fall under Prairie and Northern Region’s responsibility: our “great lakes” (Lake Winnipeg, Lake Athabasca, Great Slave Lake, and Great Bear Lake); Heritage Rivers including the North Saskatchewan, Red, and Athabasca; species at risk such as polar bears, piping plovers, swift foxes and unique grassland plants; and protected areas such as Kendall Island, Suffield, and Last Mountain Lake.
More than 5 million people inhabit the region, from large urban centers to small isolated hamlets. This number includes the largest Canadian Aboriginal population in Canada, with over 200 First Nations and several Inuit and Métis communities.
Some of the region’s major projects include the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline, oil sands developments and numerous oil, gas, mining, hydro, forestry and agriculture pursuits. These challenges place increasing demand on the programs and services provided by regional employees in support of the environment and the Canadian public.
Roughly 800 regional staff work out of 10 buildings located in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Iqaluit, Nunavut; Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The region also has a number of Water Survey of Canada offices and weather stations throughout the region.
British Columbia, Yukon and the surrounding coastal waters of the Pacific and Arctic oceans make up the Pacific and Yukon region of Environment and Climate Change Canada. A major characteristic of this area is an exceptional environmental diversity, which covers nine distinct eco-zones.
We provide region-specific scientific and technical knowledge through such services as environmental information distribution, weather warnings and forecasts, compliance promotion with environmental policies and enforcing legislation. We work in partnership with the governments of British Columbia and Yukon, First Nations, municipal governments, with the United States federal, state and local government agencies in the Pacific Northwest to foster cooperation and build consensus to protect the environment.
Over 600 staff work in Pacific and Yukon region. Just over half are located in the regional headquarters in downtown Vancouver, and the rest work in offices located in Delta and Kelowna, British Columbia, and Whitehorse, Yukon.
A number of staff also work from the Pacific Environmental Science Centre in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
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