List of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are created in Canada under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. They are administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada. As of July 2025^[update] there are ninety-two Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Canada and the first sanctuary in North America, Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary, was created by federal order-in-council in 1887.^[1]^[2]

Provinces

Alberta

As of July 2025^[update] there are four Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Alberta.^[3]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Inglewood	1929	111	270
Red Deer	1924	129	320
Richardson Lake	1949	10,798	26,680
Saskatoon Lake	1948	1,150	2,800

British Columbia

As of July 2025^[update] there are seven Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in British Columbia.^[4]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Christie Islet	1962	1	2.5
Esquimalt Lagoon	1939	134	330
George C. Reifel	1967	376	930
Nechako River	1944	183	450
Shoal Harbour	1931	146	360
Vaseux Lake	1923	559	1,380
Victoria Harbour	1923	1,891	4,670

Manitoba

Currently there are no Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in the province of Manitoba.^[1]

New Brunswick

As of July 2025^[update] there are three Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in New Brunswick.^[5]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Grand Manan	1931	433	1,070
Inkerman	1998	16	40
Machias Seal Island	1944	1,046	2,580

Newfoundland and Labrador

As of July 2025^[update] there are three Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Newfoundland and Labrador.^[6]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Ile aux Canes	1991	162	400
Shepherd Island	1991	18	44
Terra Nova	1967	1,178	2,910

Nova Scotia

As of July 2025^[update] there are eight Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Nova Scotia.^[7]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Amherst Point	1947	433	1,070
Big Glace Bay Lake	1939	393	970
Haley Lake	1980	95	230
Kentville	1939	506	1,250
Port Joli	1941	397	980
Port Hebert	1941	346	850
Sable Island	1977	3,100	7,700
Sable River	1941	313	770

Ontario

As of July 2025^[update] there are nine Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Ontario.^[8]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Beckett Creek	1969	184	450
Chantry Island	1957	19	47
Eleanor Island	1971	1	2.5
Hannah Bay	1939	25,231	62,350
Mississippi Lake	1959	300	740
Moose River	1958	2,690	6,600
Rideau River	1957	752	1,860
St. Joseph's Island	1951	986	2,440
Upper Canada	1961	2,604	6,430

Prince Edward Island

As of July 2025^[update] there is one Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Prince Edward Island.^[9]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Black Pond	1936	130	320

Quebec

As of July 2025^[update] there are twenty-eight Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Quebec.^[10]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Baie de Brador [fr]	1925	567	1,400
Baie des Loups [fr]		3,610	8,900
Betchouane [fr]		492	1,220
Bird Rocks	1919	648	1,600
Boatswain Bay	1941	15,465	38,210
Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock	1919	1,361	3,360
Cap-Saint-Ignace [fr]	1986	131	320
Carillon Island	1931	455	1,120
Gros-Mécatina	1996	2,168	5,360
Île à la Brume [fr]	1925	3,789	9,360
Île aux Basques [fr]	1927	840	2,100
Île aux Hérons [fr]	1937	631	1,560
Île du Corossol [fr]	1937	364	900
Îles de la Couvée [fr]	1986	15	37
Îles de la Paix [fr]	1972	1,092	2,700
L'Isle-Verte [fr]	1986	376	930
L'Islet [fr]	1986	59	150
Mont Saint-Hilaire	1960	985	2,430
Montmagny [fr]	1986	122	300
Nicolet	1982	2,937	7,260
Philipsburg [fr]	1955	527	1,300
Saint-Augustin [fr]	1925	5,369	13,270
Saint-Omer [fr]	1986	56	140
Saint-Vallier [fr]	1986	356	880
Sainte-Marie Islands [fr]	1925	3,980	9,800
Senneville [fr]	1936	555	1,370
Trois-Saumons [fr]	1986	157	390
Watshishou	1925	10,673	26,370

Saskatchewan

As of July 2025^[update] there are fifteen Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Saskatchewan.^[11]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Basin and Middle Lakes	1925	4,991	12,330
Duncairn Reservoir	1948	1,615	3,990
Indian Head	1924	32	79
Last Mountain Lake	1921	4,843	11,970
Lenore Lake	1925	10,331	25,530
Murray Lake	1948	1,589	3,930
Neely Lake	1952	502	1,240
Old Wives Lake	1925	32,391	80,040
Opuntia Lake	1952	1,391	3,440
Redberry Lake	1925	5,271	13,020
Scent Grass Lake	1948	647	1,600
Sutherland	1924	130	320
Upper Rousay Lake	1948	573	1,420
Val Marie Reservoir	1948	431	1,070
Wascana Lake	1956	117	290

Territories

Northwest Territories

As of July 2025^[update] there are five Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in the Northwest Territories.^[12]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Anderson River Delta	1961	118,402	292,580
Banks Island No. 1		2,019,997	4,991,520
Banks Island No. 2		14,302	35,340
Cape Parry		227	560
Kendall Island		61,241	151,330

Nunavut

As of August 2025^[update] there are nine Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Nunavut.^[13]

Name	Year established	Area
Name	Year established	ha	acre
Ahiak (Queen Maud Gulf)	1961	6,292,818	15,549,890
Akimiski Island	1941	353,421	873,320
Akpaqarvik (Prince Leopold Island)	1992	30,399	75,120
Bylot Island	1965	1,282,731	3,169,700
Ikkattuaq (Harry Gibbons)	1959	143,811	355,360
Isulijarniq (Dewey Soper)	1957	816,599	2,017,860
Kuugaarjuk (McConnell River)	1960	36,803	90,940
Naujavaat (Seymour Island)	1975	5,302	13,100
Qaqsauqtuuq (East Bay)	1959	112,826	278,800

Yukon

There are no Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in the Yukon Territory.^[1]

References

1 2 3 "Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Last Mountain Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Alberta". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - British Columbia". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - New Brunswick". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Nova Scotia". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Ontario". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Prince Edward Island". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Quebec". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Saskatchewan". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Northwest Territories". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
↑ "Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada - Nunavut". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

External links

[ECCC-MBS-1] 1 2 3 "Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[2] "Last Mountain Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

[Alberta-3] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Alberta". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[British_Columbia-4] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - British Columbia". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[New_Brunswick-5] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - New Brunswick". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Newfoundland_and_Labrador-6] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Nova_Scotia-7] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Nova Scotia". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Ontario-8] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Ontario". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Prince_Edward_Island-9] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Prince Edward Island". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Quebec-10] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Quebec". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Saskatchewan-11] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Saskatchewan". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Northwest_Territories-12] "Environment and Climate Change Canada - Northwest Territories". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[Nunavut-13] "Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada - Nunavut". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Government of Canada. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

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