National parks of Canada

Revised in 1979 under the National Parks Policy, the Act placed greater emphasis on preserving the natural areas in an unimpaired state through ecological integrity and restoration, moving away from development based heavily on profit.

Under the union's terms, Canada was to begin construction of a transcontinental railway to connect the Pacific Coast to the eastern provinces.

[8] As the Canadian Pacific Railway surveyors began to study the land in 1875, the location of the country's natural resources sprouted further interest.

Evidence of minerals quickly introduced the construction of mines and resource exploitation in Canada's previously untouched wilderness.

[9] This event brought about the beginning of Canada's movement towards preserving land and setting it aside for public usage as national parks.

Inspired by the establishment and success of Yellowstone National Park in the United States, Canada blended the conflicting ideas of preservation and commercialism in order to satisfy its natural resource needs, conservationist views of modern management, a growing public interest in the outdoors and the new popularity of getting back to nature.

[13] This growing interest to escape the hustle and bustle of the city brought about ideas of conserving Canada's unspoiled wildernesses by creating public parks.

While conservationist ideas and a Canadian desire towards getting back to nature were evident in the early development of national parks in Canada, a greater role was played by chambers of commerce, local governments, promoters of tourism, and recreational groups who advocated for profit-driven commercial development, while incorporating wildlife preservation when possible.

As the highway travels through Banff and the Bow Valley area, it includes scenic views of most of the mountains, and an environment rich with wildlife.

In 1964, the first visitor service centre was established at Lake Louise Station, which included the development of a campground, trailer park, and other attractions.

Banff became a year-round recreational centre as the growth of winter sport activities provided added incentive for tourism.

Although tourism was the first source of profit in the national parks, the exploitation of natural resources such as coal, lumber, and other minerals became another major area of revenue.

Coal was the most plentiful and profitable of all the minerals and therefore its mining in parks was accepted by politicians and Canadian Pacific Railway officials.

[23] In 1887, the Rocky Mountains Park Act was established under the Macdonald government and it reflected the importance of resource exploitation for Canada's economy.

Under this regulation, national parks were not fully preserved in their natural states as mining, logging and grazing continued to be permitted.

[24] When the Rocky Mountains Park Bill was proposed, it elicited various criticisms at the time, one being the implicit contradiction between the exploitation of resources within this national reservation.

[25] However, the overarching nineteenth century ideology that lumbering and mining would contribute to the usefulness of the reserve as opposed to depreciating the park overshadowed the concerns of resource exploitation.

This debate began as early as 1906 at the Forestry Convention in Ottawa as it stimulated a new interest in conservation which spoke to the governmental, academic, and public level.

Jasper National Park, established in 1907, restricted income-generating activities such as hunting, along with culturally valuable practices of the Aboriginal groups who had used the region.

[33] Some have claimed that the selection of which activities to allow had non-native bias, as it precluded traditional sources of subsistence such as hunting and trapping.

Through grassroots organizations and political lobbying, Indigenous residents of these areas were able to have greater influence over the process of park creation.

For both Kluane and Ivvavik parks, Indigenous organizations protested and testified to Parliamentary Committees, describing how these restrictions infringed on their ability to provide for themselves through traditional fishing, hunting, and trapping.

[41] Through protest and civil disobedience, they won greater compensation from the government to address the loss of fishing within the park that had previously been their main source of income.

[44] In the late 19th century, Canadians changed their view of nature and resources as opinions started to focus on conservationist ideas.

Other conservation-minded organizations, like the Alpine Club, had different ideas that focused on the preservation of natural wilderness and opposed any type of development or construction.

This movement was successful as the creation of parks solely for preservation purposes, like the bird sanctuary in Point Pelee, began developing.

[47] By 1930, even the conservation movements within Canada came to understand that the country's national parks had an entrenched system of profit-based motives.

Canada National Parks Act of 2001 reinforced the necessity of maintenance and restorations of ecological integrity by saving natural resources and ecosystem.

A seven-member co-operative management board will be established to advise the federal minister of Environment for the matters of parks eco-management.

Landmarks were intended to protect specific natural features considered "outstanding, exceptional, unique, or rare to this country.