Funding the Salmon Strategy: A Low-Cost Win for a Government Seeking Balance
In March, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) released its first-ever National Strategy to Ensure the Future of Atlantic Salmon -- a comprehensive, 12-year framework designed to rebuild one of the country's most iconic species. It was developed collaboratively with Indigenous communities, conservation organizations, and scientists across five provinces.
Seven months later, the strategy is ready to move from vision to implementation, and presents an opportunity for Ottawa to show that nation-building includes sustainable growth in every region.
A Political and Economic Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight
At a time when Prime Minister Carney is focused on nation-building, job creation, and maintaining confidence in resource development, the salmon strategy should be viewed as low-hanging fruit: a fully developed, evidence-based plan that supports the government's priorities. It doesn't require new bureaucracy or a new mandate, just the political will to act.
Wild Atlantic salmon underpin more than $200 million in annual economic activity and over 3,800 full-time jobs across Atlantic Canada and Quebec. These are local jobs in rural economies that the federal government is striving to stabilize. The strategy's "place-based" approach, which prioritizes watershed restoration and Indigenous-led stewardship, makes it a textbook example of practical, community-level nation-building.
Earning Social License for Development
The government's ambition to fast-track major development, including marine-based projects like oil and gas, offshore wind, and coastal transportation infrastructure, depends on maintaining public trust. Canadians will support an aggressive economic agenda only if they see clear, credible investments in protecting the ecosystems that development affects.
Failing to fund the salmon strategy risks sending the opposite message: that Ottawa is retreating from its responsibility to balance growth with stewardship. A modest, multi-year funding commitment would demonstrate that the government can manage its pursuit of economic expansion without abandoning environmental accountability.
A Public-Private Partnership Model That Works
ASF is ready to match federal leadership with action. We've committed $25 million in private funding to help implement the national strategy through ASF's programming, and we bring 75 years of delivery capacity and scientific expertise on the ground. This partnership model leverages philanthropy and community investment to extend the reach of limited public dollars making it a fiscally responsible approach in a constrained budget environment.
Aligning Conservation with the Federal Agenda
This isn't a new program proposal; it's an implementation ask. The policy architecture is already built, the objectives align with UNDRIP and Canada's biodiversity targets, and the reporting framework is in place. In short, the political return on investment is immediate: it shows action on reconciliation, climate, and rural economic development without creating new bureaucracy or spending at scale.
A Moment for Practical Leadership
In Eastern Canada, wild salmon remain both an economic asset and a cultural touchstone. For Indigenous communities, they are inseparable from rights and identity. For rural regions, they are an economic stabilizer and part of the cultural fabric.
The question is no longer what to do, it's when and who will lead.
A modest federal investment to activate the Atlantic Salmon Strategy would demonstrate that this government can reconcile fiscal discipline with environmental credibility. It would prove that Canada can still lead on conservation while keeping its focus on growth.
The vision of one Canadian economy -- often championed by Minister Dominic LeBlanc -- won't be achieved through a handful of megaprojects alone. It must include sustainable, shovel-ready initiatives that help conserve what Canadians value, deliver real jobs, strengthen regional economies, and create long-term value for both rural and urban communities. The Atlantic Salmon Strategy embodies exactly that kind of nation-building opportunity.