Subarctic-breeding Canada Goose populations breed in northern regions of North America, from Alaska to Labrador. They migrate over relatively long distances to reach their wintering grounds, which are mostly located in the nothern half of the United States, although some will overwinter further south, as well as in southern Canada. For management purposes, Subarctic-breeding Canada Geese have been grouped into sub-populations. These sub-populations have changed over time to streamline and improve management and monitoring. For example, the Southern Hudson Bay population was implemented in 2016 and combines the former Southern James Bay, Mississippi Valley, and Eastern Prairie populations. Current Subarctic-breeding Canada Geese sub-populations include the: North Atlantic, Atlantic, Southern Hudson Bay, and Pacific populations. Though most Subarctic-breeding populations have been relatively stable since the early 2000s, some populations have undergone dramatic variations, such as the Atlantic sub-population (see Population status page for more details). In Canada, the harvest of Canada Geese is carefully managed, and has increased since the 1970s. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Populations of Subarctic-breeding Canada Goose are carefully managed through harvest in Canada and the United States, and although most populations now appear relatively stable, some have undergone dramatic changes. For example, the once-heavily hunted Atlantic population peaked at nearly 1 million birds during the 1970s, before experiencing a sharp decline until 1995 which prompted authorities to completely close the sport hunting season for this sub-population until 1999. In the following years, the population recovered rapidly and appears stable since 2002 in its core breeding range. Currently, the Southern James Bay and the Mississippi Valley populations of Canada Geese, now managed collectively as the Southern Hudson Bay Population (as of 2016), appear to be declining. Numbers of Canada Geese nesting on Akimiski Island in James Bay have declined from approximately 75,000 birds in 1985 to approximately 12,000 birds in 2013 (Leafloor et al. 1996, Brook and Hughes 2014). The specific causes of the decline are unclear, but could be related to poor growth conditions for goslings (Hill et al. 2003) resulting from habitat degradation by staging Lesser Snow Geese in brood-rearing areas (Jefferies et al. 2006). Similarly, numbers of the Canada Geese from the Mississippi Valley area have been declining since 1989; the specific causes of the decline are equally unclear. Although the decline in the Mississippi Valley area is concerning, the current management plan states that management action should not be considered until it is clear that the breeding population is staying consistently below the threshold level for 3 consecutive years and that other population dynamic metrics, such as productivity, survival, and harvest rate, concur with the decline. As such, Subarctic-breeding Canada Goose populations will continue to be monitored closely.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.