Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

How Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard spent its budget in fiscal year 2024-25, shown as net expenditures by standard object from Public Accounts Volume II.

Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard manages Canada's fisheries and safeguards its oceans and other aquatic ecosystems. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans sets and enforces rules for commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries, regulates aquaculture, protects fish and fish habitat, and conducts the scientific research and monitoring that underpin those decisions. The Canadian Coast Guard, which operates within the department, delivers marine search and rescue, icebreaking, environmental response, and aids to navigation, keeping waterways open and safe for mariners on all three coasts and in inland waters such as the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. Together these functions serve coastal and inland communities, harvesters, shippers, and recreational boaters across the country.

Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard spent $5.22B in the 2024–25 fiscal year, representing 1.0% of total federal spending. These figures are net expenditures by standard object as reported in Volume II of the Public Accounts of Canada. The entire amount was recorded under a single organization, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which encompasses the Canadian Coast Guard.

The department's transfer payments centred on programs supporting Indigenous participation in fisheries and on marine and freshwater conservation. Its largest transfer program was contributions in support of the Integrated Aboriginal Programs Management Framework, followed by contributions in support of aquatic species and aquatic habitat. Two sizeable grants went to the Coastal Indigenous Prosperity Society and the Coast Conservation Endowment Fund Foundation, both connected to the Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence initiative on the Pacific coast — the former for its Community Prosperity Fund and the latter for its Marine Stewardship Fund. Contributions in support of the Integrated Fish and Seafood Sector Management Framework rounded out the department's larger transfer programs, directing funding toward the commercial fish and seafood sector.

On the consolidated accrual basis (Volume I), this portfolio’s expenses were $3.7B in FY 2024-25 — see the overview and methodology.

How did Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard spend its budget in 2024-25?

Spending by entity, FY 2024-25

Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard’s share of federal spending

Percentage of federal spending, 2014–2025

Line items

Every transfer-payment (grant and contribution) program, in dollars. These are the named programs behind the transfer-payments object in the chart above. Search, sort, and download the full table.

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Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard figures are net expenditures by standard object from Public Accounts Volume II, and will not match the Volume I consolidated headline totals. See the methodology for details.