What is the National Urban Parks Program?

Launched by Parks Canada in August 2021, National urban parks have tremendous potential to conserve and restore nature in cities, help protect cities from the impacts of climate change, provide access to nature close to where people live, conserve and share cultural heritage, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples by supporting Indigenous leadership and stewardship of urban park spaces. National urban parks may offer a wide range of benefits such as supporting economic opportunities related to infrastructure, services, recreation, and tourism, improving peoples’ health and wellbeing by providing opportunities to spend time outdoors, and increasing natural areas which help clean the air, absorb greenhouse gasses, keep cities cool, and reduce the impacts of flooding. 

National urban parks are places of natural or historical significance to the nation, located in or near a major city in Canada, that are managed in ways that contribute to three core objectives: conserving nature; connecting people with nature; advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. They are typically, large, predominantly natural areas that may consist of existing natural areas or areas that are being restored to a more natural condition. A national urban park may be one large area or a group of smaller areas that do not need to be physically connected to each other.