Mi’kmaq of N.S. and Parks Canada sign co-management arrangement

The Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada have signed an arrangement that will foster co-management of Parks Canada-administered places in the province.

The Toqi’maliaptmu’k Arrangement, meaning “we will look after it together” is the first of its kind in Nova Scotia and reinforces Indigenous rights the rights while reinforcing the relationship between the Mi’kmaq community and the federal government.

“This Arrangement was built upon years of collaboration and shared desire to care for our natural and cultural resources in the best way possible,” Chief Sidney Peters of the Glooscap First Nation and The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs Co-Chair said in a press release. “It strengthens our role in helping to oversee national parks and national historic sites, protects our Mi’kmaw rights, and ensures that the Mi’kmaw voice is part of decision making on these lands going forward. The Toqi’maliaptmu’k Arrangement demonstrates how we can create Nation-to-Nation arrangements, where the Mi’kmaq can truly work alongside the federal government as equal partners.”

Under the arrangement, both the Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada will make decisions using their respective protocols. They will also work together on issues of shared responsibility for the place Parks Canada has a role in administering in Nova Scotia.

Examples of shared initiatives include commemorating and respecting historic and contemporary Indigenous connections to sites, collaborative archaeology and land stewardship, enabling harvesting and other land-based cultural practices.

“As a Mi’kmaq and as Parliamentary Secretary, I am deeply proud to see this historic step toward true co-management and shared stewardship of our lands,” Jaime Battiste, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, said in a press release. “Toqi’maliaptmu’k means ‘we’re taking care of it
together – the two of us’ – and the Arrangement reflects this, guided by respect, balance, and our shared responsibility to future generations. This is reconciliation in action.”

The arrangement follows other Parks Canada-administered places that are already cooperatively managed with Indigenous partners. This includes Gwaii Haanas in B.C., the Torngat Mountains in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saoyú-ʔehdacho in the Northwest Territories.

Specific details on how the Toqi’maliaptmu’k Arrangement will be implemented will evolve over time through the establishment of a co-management board.

A community celebration is in the works for 2026.