History of the event
The first Canadian Parks Conference was held in March 2017 in Banff, Alberta. It brought together more than 250 participants from every corner of the country and a variety of sectors. The community that was thus formed wishes to keep meeting on a biennial basis.
The second edition will be held in Québec City in 2019. The event will be an opportunity to share best practices, know‑how, and innovative initiatives in the area of connecting to nature, conservation, and social commitment.
The event, expecting a wide range of around 400 participants (federal and provincial governments, municipalities, Indigenous leaders, private companies, non-profit organizations, students and so on) from the healthcare, education, tourism, conservation, and recreation sectors, will be hosted by Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq).
Objectives
This gathering will:
- Foster collaboration across different networks while advancing pan-Canadian initiatives
- Share success stories, expertise, and best practices throughout the parks community and with allied partners
- Celebrate and interweave different ways of knowing by working together with Indigenous and non-indigenous communities
Steering Committee
Co-chairs:
- Sépaq: Catherine Grenier, Vice President for National Parks Operations
- Department of Industry and Tourism – Northwest Territories: Evan Walz, Director
Members:
- Parks Canada : Michael Nadler, Vice President, External Relations and Visitor Experience
- Canadian Parks and Recreation Association : Cathy Jo Noble, Executive Director
- Indigenous People & Community Conserved Territories & Areas (ICCAs) Consortium : Eli Enns, Regional Coordinator North America
- Tourisme Autochtone Québec (TAQ) : Dave Laveau, Executive Director
- Canadian Parks Council : Dawn Carr, Executive Director
- CPAWS : Alison Ronson, Director of Parks
Compilation of Abstracts
The 2019 Canadian Parks Conference, which was held in Quebec City from October 7 to 10 under the theme Parks for all and all for parks, was a great success. Indeed, the event convened more than 450 participants from all provinces and territories.
In order to keep writings covering a number of subjects discussed during the Conference as well as several complementary topics related to parks and protected areas, an invitation was sent to all authors who had submitted an abstract during the call for proposals that took place in Spring 2019.
This document brings together abstracts submitted by authors who volunteered to share their articles. Many thanks to all who contributed!