$410 Million Investment Injects Hope into the Future of Pacific Salmon
- nikkipichert
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Statement by Michael Meneer, President & CEO, Pacific Salmon Foundation
March 31, 2026
Today, the Government of Canada announced a $410 million investment in wild Pacific salmon conservation as part of a new $3.8 billion federal strategy to protect nature. This comes as a welcome addition just weeks after the federal government committed to renewing the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.
Given the broader economic and geopolitical challenges facing Canada, the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) was encouraged to see the federal government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney and Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson, reaffirm its commitment to rebuilding wild Pacific salmon populations. This recognizes that Canada’s future and resilience depend on healthy Pacific salmon and ecosystems.
Two-thirds of Pacific salmon populations in Canada are in long-term decline, and salmon are facing a gauntlet of challenges in both the ocean and in their home rivers, from climate change and competition to habitat loss and development. However, there are also many positive signs of recovery and resilience in some Pacific salmon stocks, which have been enabled through conservation-based policy and major investments in recent years by Crown governments, First Nations, and stewardship groups like PSF.
We believe that investing in Pacific salmon is a win for fish, a win for the environment, and a win for sustainable economies associated with Pacific salmon health and abundance. British Columbians also know what’s at stake. Recent polling shows that a strong majority of B.C. residents (82 per cent) support government investment in salmon recovery.
Major joint investments by the federal and provincial governments since the creation of the B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund in 2019 have enabled First Nations, PSF, and other non-governmental groups to make meaningful progress in salmon research and habitat restoration. For example, PSF has helped rescue salmon during life-threatening climate emergencies like widespread drought, developed cutting-edge AI technology to improve salmon counting and identification in remote watersheds, and studied when and where salmon feed on herring – an important part of their diet.
These investments have delivered positive results for Pacific salmon conservation, and Canada’s latest commitment comes at a critical moment. Continued funding will sustain our shared momentum, particularly as federal departments that support Pacific salmon conservation experience budget reductions.
It is important to remember that we have many reasons to be hopeful about salmon recovery, and that federal investments in partnerships with First Nations and communities make a difference. Just last year, the earliest returning Fraser sockeye group came back in numbers six times higher than expected, reaching their strongest return in two decades. In the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island, Chinook returns have recently reached record highs after a low of just 500 natural spawners in 2009. In B.C.’s Interior, Columbia sockeye have made a remarkable comeback after facing the brink of extinction less than three decades ago. When given the chance, salmon can rebound.
We are also encouraged by the $80 million investment into Atlantic salmon conservation.
Wild Pacific and Atlantic salmon are interconnected with Canada’s identity from coast to coast, and PSF applauds Canada’s leadership in prioritizing the conservation of these iconic fish in the face of unprecedented threats.
Michael Meneer
President & CEO
Pacific Salmon Foundation
Background information:
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) initially launched the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) in 2021 as a $647 million, five-year investment that ended on March 31, 2026.
The British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF) is a joint program of the Government of Canada and the Province of B.C. that has issued more than $250 million to 170 projects from 2019 to March 31, 2026. Earlier this month, Canada announced its commitment to renew BCSRIF and is currently engaged in negotiations.
Photo Credit: Fernando Lessa Chilliwack River Sockeye Kokanee
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