Full Breakdown
Canada Ratifies High-Seas Treaty, Pledges $82 Million to Global Ocean Monitoring
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On a Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Canada formally ratified the High-Seas Treaty, the first legal framework governing protected areas in waters beyond national jurisdiction. The treaty entered international law in January and, with Canada’s accession, the country gains a seat at the inaugural meeting of treaty parties scheduled for January 2025. Canada also announced a five-year commitment of $82 million to the OceanEye International Alliance, a partnership co-hosted with the European Union to fund the Global Ocean Observing System.
Funding and Technical Commitments
The $82 million will finance year-round moorings in the rapidly warming Arctic Ocean (warming four times faster than the global average), autonomous underwater gliders beneath ice, and expanded monitoring of the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait. Canada will more than double its contribution to the Argo ocean-climate network and modernize the National Oceanographic Data Centre. The federal nature strategy, announced in March, earmarked $24.4 million over five years plus $1.8 million in continuing funding to meet treaty obligations. At the OceanEye event, the joint Canada-EU statement reported that the gathering raised $339 million in cash, in-kind support, and assets such as research vessels, sensors and drones. The Global Ocean Observing System relies on roughly 8,000 instruments that generate about 120,000 observations daily.
Official Statements & Responses
Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized Canada’s identity as “an ocean nation” with the world’s longest coastline and framed the pledge as part of a broader responsibility to understand and protect the oceans. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted a critical funding shortfall for the global monitoring network, urging upgrades to sensors and expanded coverage. The announcement also noted that Canada will host the Our Ocean Conference in Halifax on May 10-11, 2027, reinforcing its diplomatic push with the EU ahead of a Canada-EU summit later in October.
Scientific Concerns & Criticism
Marine scientists warned that domestic cutbacks could undermine Canada’s international leadership. Former Fisheries and Oceans Canada oceanographer Frédéric Cyr and professor emeritus Brad deYoung pointed to projected department spending reductions of up to $194 million by 2028-29 and the loss of roughly 551 full-time positions, including the scaling back of the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program. Cyr expressed concern that the new funds must sustain monitoring of the North Atlantic currents, which scientists fear may be approaching collapse.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Canada is an ocean nation. We have the world’s longest coastline as a consequence of that. That’s our inheritance, and we recognize the obligations, the responsibilities, that come with that to help lead efforts to understand those oceans, and of course, to protect them,” — Mr. Carney, prime minister
- “As Canadian scientists, working internationally, we are watching the instruments go dark,” — Frédéric Cyr
- “Our oceans form one interconnected system. Canada’s leadership on protecting the high seas is much needed. At the same time, any country that is going to lead on the high seas also needs to lead at home,” — Susanna Fuller
