Quebec marine park to nearly quadruple in size in effort to protect belugas
Rachel Watts | CBC News | Posted: March 7, 2025 5:46 PM | Last Updated: March 7
Federal and provincial governments to finalize cost to operate the park
The Saguenay-Saint-Laurent Marine Park will almost quadruple in size as part of an expansion project to help protect fragile species located where the Saguenay River meets Quebec's St. Lawrence.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced the project in collaboration with his provincial counterpart, Benoit Charette, at a joint news conference on Friday.
Guilbeault says the park, which is located 250 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, could reach a total size of 4,500 square kilometres — more than three and a half times its current size.
The park expansion would help protect nearly three per cent of Quebec's marine environment, including belugas, fin whales, blue whales, sea marshes and eelgrass beds.
"It is huge," said Guilbeault.
The park was first created in 1998 by provincial and federal legislation. Currently, it protects around 40 per cent of the beluga habitat, but Guilbeault says he wants to go further.
"One of the main criteria for the area that was chosen is to be able to protect 100 per cent of the habitat of beluga whales," said Guilbeault.
There are approximately 900 belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the population has been declining by about one per cent every year since the early 2000s, according to a 2018 report by the government of Canada.
Guilbeault says public consultations suggested people "massively support" the project, which will also connect the two banks of the river.
In the coming two years, he says the governments will finalize all the remaining elements, including the cost to operate the park. He says both the federal and provincial governments will provide resources.
"We are not stopping here. There are other great projects that bring us together," said Charette.
The environment ministers also announced the preliminary study area for the Anticosti-Mingan Marine Park, located in the area surrounding an island off the northern coast of the Gaspé peninsula. The project could cover nearly 14,000 square kilometres and represent a conservation gain of 8.4 per cent in terms of Quebec's protected marine area by 2030.
Both governments say they will meet with stakeholders such as First Nations and coastal communities to gather opinions on this conservation project.
The government says the Saguenay-Saint-Laurent Marine Park expansion relies on a co-ordinating committee made up of representatives from regional county municipalities bordering the park, the Essipit Innu First Nation, the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation, as well as representatives from the science and education communities.
In a statement following the announcement, chief Pierre Picard of the Huron-Wendat First Nation in Wendake, near Quebec City, denounced the government's "disrespectful attitude," saying it is customary to invite grand chiefs to participate during ceremonies or announcements in its region.
He says he supports the project but would have liked to partake since a portion of the marine park is on Nionwentsïo, the Huron-Wendat First Nation's territory.
"We wish to collaborate and participate with them and share our expertise," said Picard.