Ban foreign ownership of fishing licences
Petitioners ask Canada to ban transfers of commercial fishing licences and quotas to foreign owners and beneficial interests. The government responds that DFO surveyed ownership, began Pacific engagement and will analyse leasing and ownership further.
Why we would sign this petition
- Keeps commercial fishing access under Canadian control, supporting owner-operator harvesters, local processing jobs and coastal community economic stability.
- Reduces competition from foreign investors for licences and quotas, helping governments and Indigenous groups secure licences needed for reconciliation and local benefit.
- Prioritises domestic food security and the economic link between local harvest and processing by favouring Canadian ownership of access rights.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- A broad ban could raise legal or trade conflicts with international investment obligations and be legally complex to implement.
- Foreign investment can sometimes support viability in specific fisheries; an outright ban might remove capital or markets that sustain certain operations.
- Tracking beneficial ownership and policing leasing arrangements is administratively difficult; targeted reporting, leasing rules or fishery-specific measures might address concerns with fewer trade-offs.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled to the following: Whereas: DFO's mandate includes promoting the stability and economic viability of fishing operations; Canadian owner-operator fish harvesters are increasingly displaced by foreign acquisition of Canada's commercial fishing licenses and quotas; Canada does not currently have any limitation on foreign ownership of commercial fishing licenses and quotas in the Pacific Region; Canada does not record or track citizenship within transactions of fishing licenses and quotas; The absence of restrictions on foreign ownership of commercial fishing licenses and quotas damages the economic viability of Canadian- owned fishing operations, harvesters and their families, and coastal communities; Foreign investment in Canadian commercial fisheries is in direct competition with DFO and First Nations' pursuit of acquisition of fishing licenses and quotas thereby compounding challenges related to meeting reconciliation objectives; Foreign ownership of commercial fishing access compromises domestic food security and is directly linked to economic losses of domestic fish processing and processing jobs in Canada; and The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans' 2019 Report on Sharing Risks and Benefits recommends "That based on the principle that fish in Canadian waters are a resource for Canadians (i.e. common property), no future sales of fishing quota and/or licenses be to non-Canadian beneficial owners based on the consideration of issues of legal authority, and international agreement/trade impacts." Therefore, we, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to immediately ban any further transfer of Canadian commercial fishing licenses and quotas to foreign ownership or foreign beneficial interest.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Fisheries Signed by Ernie Klassen Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) takes the challenges being described in this petition seriously. The Department is acutely aware that harvesters in Pacific fisheries are concerned about control and consolidation of commercial access amongst foreign-owned fisheries participants. Since the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans released its reports on "West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits" in 2019 and “Foreign Ownership and Corporate Concentration of Fishing Licenses and Quota” in 2023, DFO has advanced the foundational work required to better understand the extent of foreign control of commercial fishing access, initiated region-wide engagement with First Nations and stakeholders to discuss a variety of interconnected fishery concerns, and is now planning to conduct further analysis. Following the Government Response to the 2019 report, DFO launched a review of foreign ownership policies in commercial fisheries. In 2021, DFO enhanced the implementation of its 51 per cent Canadian ownership minimum for Atlantic and Quebec midshore, offshore, and exempted fleet fisheries, ensuring the requirement would be applied to the full corporate structure. In 2022, DFO launched the mandatory Beneficial Ownership Survey to identify who is benefitting from commercial fishing access. The Survey’s results were published in September 2023, indicating that 98 per cent of respondents were entirely beneficially-owned by Canadians. DFO then turned its attention to indirect means of controlling commercial fishing access, such as through private leasing agreements. Recognizing the concerns these agreements raise, the Department committed to deepening its understanding of licence and quota leasing practices before considering any policy changes. Following the Government Response to the 2023 report, DFO launched a Pacific Region-wide engagement with First Nations and key stakeholders through the West Coast Commercial Fisheries Modernization (WCCFM). The WCCFM responds to calls for: more balanced representation on advisory boards, increased transparency around socio-economic data and licence/quota holdings, foreign ownership limits, as well as development of ‘made-in-British Columbia' policy and licensing solutions to support fisheries participants and the flow of benefits to coastal communities. DFO held 75 bilateral meetings with First Nations and industry stakeholders through the latter half of 2024, and most recently held six regional multi-party workshops in February 2025. The discussions on foreign ownership at these WCCFM engagements yielded a variety of views on the degree of impact that foreign ownership has on Pacific commercial fisheries. Some expressed a desire for DFO to prevent further foreign acquisitions, while others highlighted the importance of foreign investment in supporting the viability of select fisheries. DFO plans to conduct further analysis on foreign ownership by exploring licence and quota leasing practices in Pacific Region to better understand the indirect control of commercial access, and how it might influence what a “made-in-British Columbia” approach to updating fisheries management policies could look like. Further WCCFM engagements will take into account the feedback heard to date, specifically that a fishery-specific approach to stakeholder concerns is prudent given the unique evolution of west coast fisheries and the business operating environments of each fishery. DFO will also continue engaging provincial counterparts through existing federal/provincial fora to discuss concerns related to foreign ownership of the fisheries supply chain under each government’s respective jurisdictional responsibility. DFO will continue to conduct additional analysis and meaningful engagement before any significant changes are made to existing licensing regimes.