Empowering Canada’s Land Trust Community

The Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts (ACLT) is the national voice for local and regional land trusts working to conserve nature across Canada. Created in response to a clear need identified by land trusts themselves, ACLT exists for land trusts, by land trusts, to ensure the sector has strong national representation, coordinated advocacy, and the tools needed to succeed.

That collective vision was on full display at the 2025 Canadian Land Trust Summit, that took place last fall and drew close to 150 participants from across the country. The Summit brought together land trust leaders, Indigenous partners and government representatives to strengthen connections, share best practices, and advance community-based conservation. The event reflected the diversity and strength of the sector, with sessions focused on conservation impact, capacity building, reconciliation and the future of private land conservation in Canada.

Beyond convening the sector, ACLT continues to advocate on behalf of land trusts at the national level. Since 2019, land trusts have worked collectively to secure dedicated federal support for private land conservation, efforts that helped lead to the creation of the Land Trust Conservation Fund within Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP). Today, that advocacy continues with renewed momentum.

Over the past several months alone, ACLT, working closely with provincial alliances and land trusts, has participated in approximately 40 meetings with Parliamentarians and federal officials and has remained actively engaged with the Green Budget Coalition. These efforts focus on two key priorities:

• The renewal, expansion, and enhancement of the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, including a strengthened Land Trust Conservation Fund
• The establishment of a $150 million Canada Conservation Investment Fund to ensure the long-term care and stewardship of conserved private lands

These calls are reinforced through a collective advocacy letter signed by more than 100 land trusts nationwide. That is a reminder of what’s possible when land trusts come together around shared priorities.

ACLT’s work is also deeply rooted in supporting Indigenous-led conservation. Through its Indigenous Relations Working Group and dedicated programs, ACLT supports the formation and strengthening of Indigenous land trusts, grounded in Indigenous leadership, self-determination, and long-standing relationships with the land. This work recognizes that meaningful conservation must also advance reconciliation, cultural respect, and decolonization.

Together with regional alliances representing approximately 95% of Canada’s land trusts, ACLT continues to grow from a shared vision into a strong national platform, one shaped by the sector it represents. As land trusts across the country have made clear: a national voice matters. And together, that voice is helping build a more resilient, collaborative, and impactful future for conservation in Canada.