Proposed Critical Habitat Protection Regulations

Summary#

This is a notice from Environment and Climate Change Canada, published July 18, 2026, saying it intends to create the Critical Habitat Protection Regulations (CHPR) under the Species at Risk Act. The CHPR would make protection of identified critical habitat on certain federal lands automatic after 180 days and the government is taking comments during a 60-day consultation that ends September 16, 2026.

What it does#

• Creates the Critical Habitat Protection Regulations (CHPR) to protect critical habitat for listed terrestrial species on applicable federal lands.
• Automatically prohibits the destruction of critical habitat on those federal lands 180 days after the habitat is identified in a final posted recovery strategy or action plan.
• Moves away from individual, species-by-species critical habitat protection orders toward a single, centralized regulation to speed up protections and improve transparency.
• Applies to listed extirpated, endangered, or threatened terrestrial species only. The CHPR would not apply to the critical habitat of aquatic species.
• Intends to apply to federal lands as defined under the Species at Risk Act, but would not include First Nations reserve land or lands administered by the commissioners of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut; those lands would be handled separately.
• Brings terrestrial species with critical habitat already identified under the CHPR after the government publishes a notice in the Canada Gazette.

Who's affected#

• Federal departments and agencies that manage land, including Parks Canada, since some Parks lands may be covered.
• Anyone carrying out activities on applicable federal lands where critical habitat is identified — for example, operators, builders, contractors or others whose work could damage habitat.
• Indigenous peoples and communities, because reserve lands are excluded from the CHPR and separate arrangements or consultations are expected.
• The general public and stakeholders invited to comment during the consultation period.

If it’s unclear whether a specific parcel of land will be covered, the government’s notices and mapping on the public registry will provide details.

Why it matters#

• Protections would start faster and more predictably for terrestrial species at risk on federal lands, helping meet the Species at Risk Act requirement to protect critical habitat within 180 days.
• A single regulation could reduce the need for many individual orders and make it clearer which activities are banned where critical habitat is identified.
• If you work, build, or plan projects on federal land, the CHPR could change what activities are allowed in areas identified as critical habitat.
• This is a proposal, not final law. Public comments are being accepted until September 16, 2026, and more details are on the Species at Risk Public Registry.