Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Environmental Studies (MES)

Department

Geography & Environmental Studies

Program Name/Specialization

Environmental Resource Management

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Debora VanNijnatten

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Second Advisor

Christopher Lemieux

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Abstract

Climate change and biodiversity loss have been recognized as complex, interconnected issues that require synergistic and mutually reinforcing policy solutions. Given the ambitious commitments by the Canadian government to abate the two “wicked problems”, this study investigates whether the government has constructed a policy framework that synthesizes climate and biodiversity concerns through policy integration and mainstreaming processes. Through a semi-systematic and comprehensive content analysis approach, this study assesses the degree to which biodiversity protection and climate mitigation have been effectively mainstreamed into federal policies, programs, and instruments. Specifically, the study constructs an evaluative framework based on established “best practices” of Nature-based Climate Solutions, as present in the academic and policy literatures. The framework is then applied to 26 federal policies, programs, and instruments to reveal the government’s achievements and shortcomings in terms of mainstreaming climate and biodiversity objectives. The established policy attributes, indicators, and measures in the framework were then used to assess on breadth and depth scales the government’s commitment to address and to put in place operational policy mechanisms to implement these commitments. The content analysis reveals that the federal government is often ambitious but has not constructed actionable mechanisms to implement the mainstreaming of climate and biodiversity. Specifically, 8 out of the 16 indicators exhibited higher breadth scores than depth scores. Additionally, the evaluative framework showed that the federal government scored a cumulative total of 74 out of 128, highlighting the significant effort still required to achieve mainstreaming objectives. The study goes on to discuss the major discrepancies and concerns, and provides recommendations for policymakers to encourage the development of effective mainstreaming processes in Canada.

Convocation Year

2024

Convocation Season

Fall

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Available for download on Sunday, January 18, 2026

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