Canada, host of the UN biodiversity summit, is struggling to meet its own targets

It was the spring of 2014, and practically everyone and their grandma was dancing to Pharrel William's catchy upbeat tune Happy, so perhaps then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper could be forgiven for feeling overly optimistic.

His hopeful promise, announced at a May news conference in New Maryland, N.B., was that by 2020 Canada would protect 17 per cent of its land and inland waters, and 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas. At the time, 10.5 per cent of land and only one per cent of marine area was protected.

Fast forward to 2022, federal governments have changed and those pre-pandemic days may feel like a distant memory, but one thing that remains constant is that Canada continues to struggle to meet its own biodiversity goals.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of different kinds of life that exists in a habitat — all the plants and animals that rely on one other in the delicate balance of an ecosystem.

It's declining at unprecedented rates globally, which threatens not only wildlife and natural spaces, but also human food security and genetic resources necessary for medicine and science.

When it comes to protecting the land and water that house those natural assets, the latest data show Canada is coming up short. 

This past week, a report submitted by the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General of Canada called out the federal government's lack of progress. 

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco scrutinized Ottawa's track record and "failure to take sufficient steps to address the loss of biological diversity" in his remarks. 

"I would say that Canada has always been a leader — on paper — in terms of biodiversity," DeMarco said.

"But in terms of results, they have been sorely lacking."

Despite strides forward, Canada failed to meet its 2020 national Aichi targets set by Harper under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

That's not to say that the country hasn't made some progress. By the end of 2021, 13.5 percent of land and freshwater and 13.9 per cent of marine territory was protected — certainly an improvement since 2014, especially in terms of marine conservation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vows his government will be able to surpass those targets to conserve 25 per cent of lands and oceans by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030.

Momentum is gaining, according to a senior official with the office of Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault. In a conversation with CBC news, they said that hitting the 2025 goal is still doable — though ambitious — and requires the collaboration of provinces, territories and Indigenous partners.