Changes to Waterfowl Seasons and Limits

Summary#

These are the final Regulations Amending the Migratory Birds Regulations that change hunting seasons, bag limits and zone boundaries for the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 waterfowl seasons. They were registered and came into force on June 18, 2020, and were published in the Canada Gazette on July 8, 2020. The changes were developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada with provinces, territories and stakeholders.

What it does#

• Updates season dates, daily bag limits and possession limits for many species across provinces and territories. This is a broad, multi-jurisdictional adjustment rather than a single focused rule.
• Simplifies hunting zones in several places:
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: merges some inland zones into one Newfoundland Inland Zone.
  • Nova Scotia: combines two inland zones into a single Zone No. 2.
  • Alberta: reduces the number of zones from eight to two.
• Tightens harvest rules for eiders in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick:
  • Shorter seasons and possession limits limited to 2 eiders daily (including at most 1 female) and 4 possessed.
• Reduces short-term harvest of the Atlantic population of Canada Geese in parts of Quebec during peak migration:
  • Daily limits reduced in some districts (e.g., from 5 to 3 or 2 birds during the restricted period).
• Changes in Ontario:
  • Standardizes possession limits to three times the daily bag for most species (e.g., increases possession for American Black Duck to 18 in some districts).
  • Adds or adjusts spring and special seasons for Snow and Ross’s Geese in some Wildlife Management Units.
  • Increases the daily bag for Canada/Cackling Geese in WMU 94 from 2 to 3.
• Designates temperate-breeding Canada Geese as overabundant in southern Manitoba, adding special spring measures and allowing recorded calls during those periods.
• Removes a special pintail limit exception in Saskatchewan and Alberta, raising the general duck daily bag and possession limits (e.g., daily bag increased to 8, possession to 24 where applicable).
• Establishes a Sandhill Crane season in parts of Alberta (daily bag 5, possession 15) and opens sandhill crane hunting in the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area (Saskatchewan).
• Adjusts dates and bag limits in other areas:
  • British Columbia (District 8 opening moved later to give more hunting when birds are present).
  • Nunavut: increases possession limits for non-residents and raises Snow/Ross’s Goose daily bag to 50.
  • Labrador: separates merganser limits from scoters/eiders (creating distinct bag limits).
• Clarifies bait/sign rules for scientific bird-banding: hunting near bait used for banding is allowed if the bait meets conditions, and a sign must be posted at the bait site (resolves a previous inconsistency).
• Administrative and formatting updates across many schedule tables (dates, footnotes, map/zone descriptions).
• The government estimated the incremental compliance/promotion cost at about $30,000. Enforcement tools noted include fines and administrative penalties (individual AMPs up to $5,000, non-individuals up to $25,000, and court fines for designated offences starting at $5,000).

Who's affected#

• Migratory game bird hunters across Canada. The rules apply to people required to hold a migratory game bird hunting permit.
• Hunting outfitters, guide services and related businesses may see small effects through season/take changes, but no new business obligations were created.
• Provincial and territorial wildlife agencies and enforcement officers (who will administer and enforce the updated rules).
• Indigenous peoples: these regulatory changes apply to permit-holders and do not override existing Aboriginal or treaty harvesting rights. The amendments do not change those rights.
• It is unclear exactly how many individual hunters will change behaviour; the amendments vary widely by region and species.

Why it matters#

• Conservation: the changes aim to keep hunting sustainable where populations are healthy, and to restrict take where some populations (e.g., Atlantic Canada Geese, eiders) show declines or concern.
• Hunting opportunity: some changes increase opportunities (longer seasons or higher bag/possession limits in some areas), while others reduce or limit take to protect vulnerable populations.
• Agriculture and communities: designating some geese as overabundant and allowing targeted harvests or new seasons (e.g., Sandhill Crane in Alberta) is intended to reduce crop damage and other local harms.
• Legal clarity and consistency: the bait/sign clarification and zone consolidations simplify the rules and correct inconsistencies that previously caused confusion for hunters and scientists.
• Enforcement and costs: modest government costs for outreach ($30,000) and existing enforcement and penalty systems remain in place to promote compliance.