Program directory · Transport Canada
Protecting Oceans and Waterways
- Department
- Transport Canada
- Program code
- BTX02 (TC)
- Core responsibility
- Green and Innovative Transportation System
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Canada is home to the world’s longest coastline, and our waterways are a key component of the nation’s overall transportation system. Our Program is responsible for protecting, managing, restoring and improving Canada’s marine environment. Some of the initiatives we undertake include: the Oceans Protection Plan, that improves marine safety and enforces responsible shipping practices, protects Canada’s waters and marine environment, restores and protects marine ecosystems and habitats, and is collaborative with Indigenous and coastal communities; and administering clean water regulatory frameworks, which set the rules governing the protection of the marine environment (e.g., from pollution, spills, invasive species, the usage of ballast water, etc.); and oversight, which contributes to reducing pollution from vessels, by monitoring marine transportation firms’ compliance to the regulatory frameworks through surveillance, inspections, audits, monitoring and enforcement.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protecting Oceans and Waterways | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $821M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Spending $105M, against $75.7M in 2018-19 (+39%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of ships that are compliant with mandatory measures that mitigate the impacts of vessel traffic on marine species | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of ships that are compliant with mandatory measures that mitigate the impacts of vessel traffic on marine species | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023 | Budget 2023 measure “Protecting Canada's Whales”: $143M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2023, PDF page 164 |
| 2023-24 | Spending $152M, against $119M in 2022-23 (+28%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned employees (FTEs) 343, against 509 in 2026-27 (−33%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $122M, against $186M in 2026-27 (−35%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2028-29 | Planned spending $79.4M, against $122M in 2027-28 (−35%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | ≥ 70% | 2022 | 70% 2022 Public opinion research results show steady confidence in Canada’s marine safety system - 70% in coastal communities, 58% with Canadians, and 65% with Indigenous Coastal communities. | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 70% | 2023 | — No measurable results in 2022-23. Public opinion survey to be conducted in 2023/24. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 70% | 2024 | 70.5% The Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) updated its public indicator as part of the OPP 2.0 renewal to “Percentage of Canadians who are confident in Canada’s marine safety system”. However, the target within GC Infobase does not align with the new indicator and reflects the target for the original OPP indicator. The target will be updated through the next amendment process in 2025-26. Within GC Infobase… | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2024 | 70.5% *The result is the same as last year as the surveys are only done every 2 years. The Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) updated its public indicator as part of the OPP 2.0 renewal to “Percentage of Canadians who are confident in Canada’s marine safety system”. However, the target within GC Infobase does not align with the new indicator and reflects the target for the original OPP indicator. The target… | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 90% Over 90% of ships over 20 metres transiting in Haro Strait and Boundary Pass participated in the ECHO program’s voluntary vessel slowdown measures and over 99% of ships over 13 metres in length were in compliance with the Transport Canada mandatory speed limit in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | By March 2027, 2% increase of survey respondents are confident in Canada’s marine safety system from the end of 2022. | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $113M | $75.7M |
| 2019-20 | $148M | $105M |
| 2020-21 | $182M | $94.4M |
| 2021-22 | $164M | $105M |
| 2022-23 | $162M | $119M |
| 2023-24 | $199M | $152M |
| 2024-25 | $249M | $170M |
| 2025-26 | $202M | — |
| 2026-27 | $186M | — |
| 2027-28 | $122M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $79.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 298 | 337 |
| 2019-20 | 334 | 364 |
| 2020-21 | 373 | 397 |
| 2021-22 | 354 | 403 |
| 2022-23 | 297 | 419 |
| 2023-24 | 582 | 481 |
| 2024-25 | 594 | 496 |
| 2025-26 | 480 | — |
| 2026-27 | 509 | — |
| 2027-28 | 343* | — |
| 2028-29 | 341* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $113,101,366 | $127,821,886 | $114,042,501 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $148,441,307 | $140,702,389 | $111,618,008 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $182,446,318 | $166,578,198 | $96,367,934 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $163,851,448 | $107,475,050 | $79,801,362 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $161,804,435 | $99,180,514 | $76,500,730 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $199,414,683 | $209,022,609 | $159,741,292 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $248,735,586 | $203,270,965 | $170,889,831 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $201,849,584 | $159,954,053 | $80,102,057 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $186,405,852 | $121,537,425 | $79,384,929 | ||||||||
| Actual | $75,662,892 | $104,896,062 | $94,377,554 | $105,104,391 | $118,583,338 | $151,881,669 | $170,108,959 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
