Estimate of Natural Infrastructure Public Grant Funding in Canada and the Canadian Prairies

The report estimates that CAD 346.6 million is provided annually via national grants for natural infrastructure in Canada, with CAD 98.4 million reaching the Prairie provinces from combined federal and provincial sources. It finds that while conservation is a common objective in funding programs, the majority of actual spending is directed toward restored ecosystems (57%) and engineered systems (41.1%), with conserved ecosystems receiving only 1.7% of funding. The Natural Infrastructure Fund (NIF) is identified as the only fund explicitly targeting natural infrastructure projects.

• National grant funding for natural infrastructure in Canada is estimated at CAD 346.6 million annually from 16 analyzed funds, with CAD 69.3 million of that amount reaching the Prairie provinces.
• In the Prairie provinces, nine provincially funded programs contribute an estimated CAD 29.1 million annually, bringing the total combined federal and provincial natural infrastructure funding in the region to CAD 98.4 million.
• Among the four largest national funds—the Green Municipal Fund (GMF), the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), the ICIP COVID-19 Resilience stream, and the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF)—the proportion of funding allocated to natural infrastructure ranges from 0.4% to 13.2%.
• Analysis of the four largest funding programs shows that restored ecosystems receive the most funding (over 57%), followed by engineered systems (41.1%), while conserved ecosystems receive only 1.7%.
• The Natural Infrastructure Fund (NIF) is the only analyzed fund that explicitly targets natural infrastructure projects, as only about 4% of total natural infrastructure funding is attributed to explicit development targets.
• Within constructed and restored systems, the dominant function is moving water (rivers and engineered drainage) at 54.4%, followed by urban greenery (36%) and standing water systems (7.6%).

APA

Saleh, T., & Puzyreva, M. (2024). Estimate of Natural Infrastructure Public Grant Funding in Canada and the Canadian Prairies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-06/natural-infrastructure-funding-canada-prairies.pdf

Chicago

Saleh, Thomas, and Marina Puzyreva. Estimate of Natural Infrastructure Public Grant Funding in Canada and the Canadian Prairies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-06/natural-infrastructure-funding-canada-prairies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Saleh |first1=Thomas |last2=Puzyreva |first2=Marina |title=Estimate of Natural Infrastructure Public Grant Funding in Canada and the Canadian Prairies |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-06/natural-infrastructure-funding-canada-prairies.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{saleh2024estimate, author = {Saleh, Thomas and Puzyreva, Marina}, title = {{Estimate of Natural Infrastructure Public Grant Funding in Canada and the Canadian Prairies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-06/natural-infrastructure-funding-canada-prairies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }