Any activity on the water can affect the marine environment. The Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping Initiative was launched in 2017 to better understand the impacts of shipping activity on marine environments.
Working collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples, academia, industry, and other government departments, Transport Canada has established a national framework for assessing environmental, social, and cultural impacts of marine shipping. This framework will help support future assessments of marine shipping.
Moving forward, the Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping Initiative will continue building meaningful relationships with Indigenous Peoples across the country. Regional assessment projects at existing pilot sites are ongoing. This work is helping to collaboratively identify measures to mitigate impacts to the environment and communities.
On this page
Objective
The goal of this initiative is to study the potential effects of how marine shipping impacts the environment and coastal communities. It will also establish a national framework for assessing those effects.
Collaborative approach
To support this initiative, local, regional and national engagement sessions were held with:
- Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis)
- Coastal communities
- Port authorities
- Non-governmental environmental organizations
- Marine science organizations
- Academics
- Industry
- other government departments
Assessment areas
As part of this initiative, Transport Canada is working with Indigenous partners and stakeholders in eight assessment areas across Canada, which include:
- Northern Shelf Bioregion, British Columbia
- Kitselas First Nation and Kitsumkalum Indian Band, British Columbia
- South Coast British Columbia
- St. Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers, Quebec
- Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
- Placentia Bay, Newfoundland
- Cambridge Bay, Nunavut
- Southwest Great Lakes, Ontario
StoryMaps
Explore how Transport Canada is partnering with Indigenous communities, coastal stakeholders, and other collaborators to assess the cumulative effects of marine shipping across Canada’s diverse coasts. This interactive StoryMaps highlights current study areas across Canada’s four coasts, representing a range of environmental, social, and cultural values. Learn about these unique regions, including Placentia Bay, Bay of Fundy, St. Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers, Southwest Great Lakes, Cambridge Bay, British Columbia’s South and North Coasts, and the Northern Shelf Bioregion of British Columbia.
Reports
Review of cumulative effects management concepts and international frameworks
(PDF, 2.5 MB)
Cumulative Effects Assessment: Technical Workshop Report
(PDF, 1.5 MB)
Related links
- Let’s Talk: What we’ve heard so far on Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping
- Protecting our Coasts – Oceans Protection Plan
- Science Advice for Pathways of Effects for Marine Shipping in Canada
- Pathways of Effects Conceptual Models for Marine Commercial Shipping in Canada
- Better protected coastal ecosystem
- Cumulative Effects Assessment: St. Lawrence and Saguenay River Pilot Project