The Legault government refuses to recognize the existence of the eastern wolf in Quebec, even though this practically unknown canid in the province is on the verge of extinction and the federal government intends to grant it the status of “threatened” species. . Such a designation would require the implementation of measures prohibiting hunting and trapping in its habitat, which the CAQ government opposes.
When we talk about the presence of wolves in Quebec, we naturally think of the gray wolf. This species of canid, feared by some and targeted by trappers and hunters, is an important element in the health of our forest ecosystems. However, there is another distinct species, the eastern wolf, which is little-known and yet present near inhabited regions in the south of the province.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), this canid with its reddish-brown coat, which can reach a weight of 29 kg, lives in particular in the region of Mont-Tremblant Park, La Mauricie National Park, and the wildlife reserve. of Papineau-Labelle, the Laurentides wildlife reserve and the ZEC Maganasipi. It is also present in Ontario, where it already benefits from protection measures against hunting and trapping from the provincial government.
It must be said that the species is in serious decline, concluded a report published by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2015. While emphasizing that the size of its population is unknown, federal scientists estimated that it would “probably have fewer than 1,000 mature individuals”.
However, “as most records of the species have been made in protected areas, the size of the mature population of the eastern wolf is probably closer to 236 individuals”, which includes individuals that live in Ontario and Quebec. Over the past 10 to 15 years, it was reported, barely 170 to 195 eastern wolves (of all ages) have been identified.
Threatened species “
COSEWIC then recommended that the federal government list the canid as a “threatened” species under the Species at Risk Act. His report noted that “its population is unlikely to increase due to competition from the eastern coyote and its increased mortality outside protected areas.” The animals are mainly victims of hunting and trapping, according to scientists.
The experts also argued that “the eastern wolf is also of particular importance because it may constitute the last significant wild population of the red wolf, a species seriously threatened with extinction in the United States.”
In this context, ECCC finally published a proposed decree in November 2023 to confirm that the eastern wolf is a “threatened” species. “This means that it would be prohibited to kill, harm, harass, capture, take, possess, collect, buy, sell or trade the species or any part or derivative of it. this one. It is also prohibited to damage or destroy the residence (for example, the nest, the den),” specifies ECCC in a written response.
These bans would apply first on “federal lands.” But subsequently, the government will have to develop “a recovery program” which plans to designate “critical habitat” in collaboration with the provinces concerned, including Quebec. This would mean imposing protection measures in certain forest areas of the province where the canid, which mainly feeds on white-tailed deer and moose, is found.
Clashes between Quebec and Ottawa over endangered species
Refusal from Quebec
The Legault government, however, does not see it that way, judging that the species simply does not exist. “We do not recognize the eastern wolf as a species, but we recognize its existence as a genetic group,” responds the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) .
“Considering the taxonomic uncertainty linked to the classification of canids in Quebec and gaps in knowledge concerning, among other things, its physical identification, its geographical distribution and its abundance, the government of Quebec does not recognize the eastern wolf as a species in its own right,” specifies the ministry. This canid is also not included on the list of wild vertebrate species documented on Quebec territory and does not appear on the List of vertebrate fauna of Quebec.
Quebec, however, says it is continuing work to “improve knowledge” about large canids, in particular to better understand the “hybridization rate” of the eastern wolf, a species that can reproduce with the coyote. But “in the current state of knowledge available in Quebec, it is premature to consider any protective measures,” we emphasize by email.
Same story in the office of the Minister of the Environment of Quebec, Benoit Charette. “Protecting biodiversity is a priority for our government. In the case of the eastern wolf, I would like to remind you that work to acquire knowledge on large canids is underway at my department, in order to have a better portrait of the different species and their hybrids. However, at present, we do not have data that demonstrates its presence on the territory of Quebec,” it is argued.
The Société des establishments de plein air du Québec, which manages the Mont-Tremblant park, agrees with the government, believing that it is up to it “to recognize or not the “wolf of the East” as a ‘distinct species’.
Hunting and trapping
In addition to not recognizing the existence of the species, the CAQ government has notified the federal government of its opposition to listing it as a “threatened” species. The MELCCFP argued that the ban on “recreational activities” such as hunting and trapping wolves “could have negative economic repercussions on the province,” according to what we can read in a document posted online by ECCC .
Currently, the last eastern wolves living in Quebec can also be killed by hunters and trappers, deplores Véronique Armstrong, of the Quebec Association for the Protection and Observation of Wildlife. “The eastern wolf does not even appear on the list of terrestrial vertebrates in Quebec. We are therefore very far from a protection status. »
However, she insists on the importance of ensuring the survival of this canine. “We are talking about a species which was very present in North America and which is now restricted to a very small area. We are therefore losing a species, and there is scientific consensus on its existence. Continuing to deny its existence amounts to bad faith. The Quebec government should stand behind the consensus instead of resisting. »
According to Mme Armstrong, the case of the eastern wolf “highlights the difficulty, in Quebec, of recognizing the need to protect biodiversity, and in particular threatened species. But we are in a biodiversity crisis. We must protect species that are essential for the health of ecosystems.”