Environment Canada Gave Over $500M to NGOs and Academia Since 2022

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 18, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Environment and Climate Change Canada has given out over $500 million in grants and contributions to non-profits, academia, and international non-governmental organizations since 2022, according to information tabled in Parliament.

The department provided a total of $424.7 million to not-for-profit organizations or charities, $22 million to academia, and $76.5 million to international organizations since 2022, for a total of about $523 million.

The information was tabled in response to an order paper question from Conservative MP Branden Leslie, who asked for the total amounts of grants and contributions, broken down by category, given out by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) since 2019. The department said that because tracking by recipient type only began on April 1, 2022, data was limited to the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Total ECCC grants on April 1, 2022, were $99 million, followed by $324 million in 2023, and $100 million up until April 9, 2024.

Amounts given to organizations included $18.1 million for the United Nations Environment Programme, $11.5 million for the Canadian Institute for Clean Growth and Climate Change, $3.5 million for the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, $720,000 for the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and $600,000 for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Funding was also given to organizations such as the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Nature Manitoba, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Delta Marsh Bird Observatory, Canadian Council on Invasive Species, and the Marmot Recovery Foundation.

ECCC did not provide a description of the purpose of the funding for each group, as it had “concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question is not possible in the time allotted.”

ECCC said it gives funding through various grants and contributions programs to groups, organizations, and individuals with projects that “protect or conserve our natural environment.” It is currently funding programs that focus on clean technology, carbon pollution pricing proceeds, green infrastructure, and a low-carbon economy.

ECCC’s budget in 2023 was an estimated $1.96 billion, with $609 million going toward conserving nature, $478 million toward “Taking Action on Clean Growth and Climate Change,” $379 million toward preventing and managing pollution, $281 million toward predicting weather and environmental conditions, and $219 million towards internal services.