Quarterly financial report for the quarter ended December 31, 2025

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. This report should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates, the Supplementary Estimates and the previous Quarterly Financial Reports.

A summary description of the Parks Canada’s programs can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates, and a detailed description in Part III – Departmental Plans.

This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit. However, it has been reviewed by Parks Canada's independent external Audit Committee.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the Parks Canada’s spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the Agency consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (B) for the 2025-26 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

Parks Canada uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the financial results for the quarter and fiscal year-to-date ended December 31, 2025, and provides explanations of variances compared with the same period last year.

Budgetary authorities and expenditures for the quarter of 2025-26 and 2024-25 ending December 31

Budgetary authorities and expenditures for the quarter of 2025-26 and 2024-25 ending December 31 — Text version

Budgetary authorities and expenditures for the quarter of 2025-26 and 2024-25 ending December 31
(Millions)

Authorities and expenditures	2025 to 2026	Change	2024 to 2025
Authorities	$1,503.1	$143.2 11%	$1,359.9
Expenditures at quarter-end	$301.1	-$8.2 -3%	$309.3
Year-to-date expenditures	$892.6	-$23.3 -3%	$915.9

Overview: This chart compares budgetary authorities and expenditures for two fiscal years (2025-26 and 2024-25) for the quarter ending September 30. The values are in millions of dollars.

Breakdown by Fiscal Year:

2025-26:
AAuthorities (budget available): $1,503.1 million
Expenditures at quarter-end: $301.1 million
Year-to-date expenditures: $892.6 million
Changes from previous year:
Authorities increased by $143.2 million (11% increase).
Expenditures at quarter-end decreased by $8.2 million (3% decrease).
Year-to-date expenditures decreased by $23.3 million (3% decrease).

2024-25:
Authorities: $1,359.9 million
Expenditures at quarter-end: $309.3 million
Year-to-date expenditures: $915.9 million

Visual Indicators:
Green upward arrow above the 2025-26 authorities bar shows a 4% increase (+$51.4 million).
Red downward arrows above the 2025-26 expenditures at quarter-end and year-to-date bars indicate decreases of 6% ($24.6 million) and 2% ($15.1 million) respectively.

Summary:
The budgetary authority for 2025-26 is higher than for 2024-25 by 4%. However, actual expenditures (both at quarter-end and year-to-date) are lower in 2025-26 compared to the same periods in 2024-25.

Statement of Authorities (Table 1)

Authorities available for use

This quarterly report reflects the authorities available for use in the current fiscal year, which includes the 2025-26 Main Estimates, the 2025-26 Supplementary Estimates B, additional compensation adjustments, and the 2024-25 unused spending authority. These authorities are compared to those available during the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, which consisted of the 2024-25 Main Estimates, the 2024-25 Supplementary Estimates B, additional compensation adjustments, and the 2023-24 unused spending authority.

At December 31, 2025, Parks Canada’s total authorities available for use for the year ending March 31, 2026, are $143.2 million (or 11%) higher when compared to the same quarter of the previous year (from $1,359.9 million to $1,503.1 million).

The $143.2 million increase in authorities is primarily attributed to the following factors:

1. Increases in authorities:
   • $95.1 million for the Preliminary Recovery and Rebuild of Jasper National Park
   • $72.5 million to support free access and reduced camping fees for Parks Canada places for summer 2025
   • $25.0 million for a permanent adjustment to revenue authorities
   • $24.7 million in reprofiled funds for various operational requirements
   • $12.7 million related to carryforward funding included in the 2025-26 authorities compared to the previous year
   • $10.0 million for the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan
   • $6.9 million to support the settlement of land-related claims and litigation
   • $5.1 million for the Pituamkek National Park Reserve
2. Decreases in authorities:
   • $50.3 million for Real Property & Assets
   • $39.8 million for Enhanced Nature Legacy
   • $9.6 million related to the conclusion of temporary funding for the Federal Framework to Address the Legacy of Residential Schools
   • $5.3 million for Wood Buffalo National Park Action Plan & Wood Bison

Authorities used during the quarter

In the third quarter of 2025-26, total net budgetary expenditures were $301.1 million compared to $309.3 million reported for the same period in 2024-25, resulting in a decrease of $8.2 million (or 3%).

Table 1 provides information on the authorities available for use and used during this quarter.

Budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (Table 2)

Planned by standard object

Total planned expenditures, for the year ending March 31, 2026, are $143.2 million (or 11%) higher compared to the previous year.

The increases are mainly observed in planned spending in the following areas:

• Professional and special services, largely attributed to temporary funding for Preliminary Recovery and Rebuild of Jasper National Park, Real Property & Assets program, and Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan
• Repair and maintenance, largely attributed to temporary funding for the Real Property & Assets program

These increases are partially offset by a decrease in planned spending in the following area:

• Acquisition of land, building and works, largely due to the temporary funding for the Real Property & Assets program

Expended by standard object

As per Table 2 (Budgetary expenditures by Standard Object), the $8.2 million decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year is mainly due to the following decrease:

• $14.1 million in Personnel, mainly due to the timing of payments made in the third quarter of 2024–25 to ensure employees are not affected by salary disbursements falling on statutory holidays

Offset by the following increase:

• $6.2 million in Transfer payments, primarily due to a new grant established for the Toqi’maliaptmu’k arrangement

New Parks and Historic Sites (Table 3)

The total available at the beginning of 2025–26 is $216.0 million, compared to $211.2 million at the beginning of 2024–25. The $4.8 million increase is explained by $35.6 million in receipts of parliamentary authorities and $30.8 million in expenditures incurred in 2024–25. The highest spending was observed for the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area, where $14.8 million was spent.

During the third quarter, $36.7 million was charged to the New Parks and Historic Sites account, compared with $5.8 million for the same period in 2024–25. This increase is primarily attributable to the acquisition of Prevost Island in British Columbia.

Table 3 provides information on the New Parks and Historic Sites account available for use and used during this quarter.

Risks and uncertainties

Climate change

In response to the risk of climate change, which presents significant threats to the ecosystems, cultural heritage, infrastructure, and services it manages and delivers, Parks Canada assesses climate change risk to individual places, seeks to understand its potential impacts and identifies measures for feasible and effective adaptation and response. Parks Canada also aims to integrate a climate lens into national policies, strategies, and planning processes through the creation of function-specific guidance, tools, and other resources that consider current and future climate conditions across all areas of responsibility. It will also work to review emergency management procedures, particularly to prepare for and respond to the challenges of wildfires, flooding, erosion, and other climate change-related natural disasters.

Legal and regulatory environment for Indigenous rights

The legal and regulatory environment for Indigenous rights in Canada that Parks Canada operates under, challenges its ability to deliver on its priorities, namely to honour and support Indigenous stewardship as outlined in the new Indigenous Stewardship Policy, and to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan. Falling short of obligations will have a negative impact on Parks Canada’s relationships with Indigenous peoples, communities, and organizations as well as the management of the places it administers.

Parks Canada will also work to strengthen relationships with Indigenous partners where they exist and work to build relationships where they do not, working to facilitate Indigenous relationships with their traditional lands, waters, and ice. Parks Canada will also advance the realization of its commitments in the UNDA Action Plan through avenues like the newly released Indigenous Stewardship Policy and the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, including by developing, in consultation with Indigenous peoples, a measurement framework to measure UNDA Action Plan progress. Internally, Parks Canada will also investigate, with Indigenous partners, methods, and approaches to weave different knowledge systems to inform conservation planning and decision-making.

Digital modernization

If Parks Canada does not meet the pace or requirements of digital modernization, its ability to deliver critical and non-critical services to Canadians due to aging information technology and information management processes will be increasingly at risk. Mitigations include completing upgrades to critical applications that support essential safety functions, reviewing current digital tools through its application portfolio management approaches, retiring those that have low business value, and focusing on improving the technological health of priority digital tools. Parks Canada will also implement a new Investment and Project Management system and an Enterprise Data Management solution which will provide a centralized platform for planning, tracking, results, and overseeing projects and investments.

Asset sustainability

Asset sustainability continues to be a significant area of risk for Parks Canada as time-limited funding comes to an end as a result, its ability to maintain the condition of its significant asset portfolio is challenged.

To mitigate these risks, Parks Canada will continue work to articulate future funding requirements to increase and supplement its base capital allocation for its fixed asset portfolio. Given the impending sunset of approved, temporary asset funding, there is a sizeable gap between existing funding levels and requirements for annual, long-term capital and maintenance investment to sustain Parks Canada’s asset dependent programs. Existing projects to invest time-limited funding to support priority improvements to its heritage and contemporary built asset portfolio will be completed, with new investments focusing on the most urgent projects, such as assets in conditions posing the greatest risk to the health and safety of visitors, users, local residents, and Parks Canada team members. Parks Canada will also prioritize new investments to strengthen regulatory compliance and address health and safety issues in its built heritage assets portfolio and continue to conduct impact analyses identifying potential threats and proposing approaches to ensure the protection of its built heritage assets.

Further, as part of Parks Canada’s transition to a modernized Departmental Results Framework, program-critical asset segments will be treated within the Program Inventory and managed as a part of Parks Canada’s programs. Program reviews and the program integrity’s dependence upon asset condition, availability, and utility will qualify and quantify this risk under a different model.

Financial sustainability

To address the risk of financial sustainability, Parks Canada will advance initiatives to modernize and integrate its financial, investment, and project management regimes to support the implementation of strengthened planning, forecasting, and budgeting practices to ensure effective financial resource management. It will also design and implement strengthened, renewed and more efficient governance processes, systems, and tools to improve oversight and efficacy. Parks Canada will also implement the findings of the enterprise-wide review that assessed resource levels across all business units by identifying baseline resource requirements for the sustainable delivery of mandated activities. This will be coordinated with the transition to a modernized Departmental Results Framework and implementation of an effective integrated financial and business planning. It will also work to advance the optimization of its real property portfolio by focusing on affordability and core assets required for the delivery of the Parks Canada mandate. Together these processes and frameworks support priority-setting, resource allocation against priorities and enable regular program review and assessment.

Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

The following major changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs occurred during the third quarter:

• In November 2025, Darlene Upton began an Interchange assignment as Chief Engagement Officer, World Protected Areas Leaders with the International Union for Conservation of Nature
• In November 2025, David Millar was appointed Vice-President, Protected Area Establishment and Conservation
• In November 2025, Patrick Boucher was deployed as Vice-President, Real Property and Assets
• In November 2025, Steven Guilbeault left his position as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture
• In December 2025, Parks Canada is now part of Minister Julie Dabrusin’s portfolio as Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature

Approval by senior officials

Approved by:

Original signed by:
Andrew Campbell
Acting President & Chief Executive Officer and
Senior Vice-President of Transformation
Parks Canada
Gatineau, Canada
Date: February 5, 2026

Original signed by:
Andrew Francis, CPA
Vice-President Finance & Chief Financial Officer,
Parks Canada
Ottawa, Canada
Date: January 30, 2026