Press Release – June 1, 2023

Ocean Week Canada 2023, June 2 – 11:

An ocean celebration with over 160 events across the country

 

JOHN’S, NL, June 1, 2023 — From June 2 to 11, 2023, more than 500,000 people will take part in Ocean Week Canada, a nationwide festival of events and activities promoting ocean connection and conservation. Ocean Week Canada coincides with World Ocean Day on June 8.

Now in its second year, Ocean Week Canada brings together local, regional, and national ocean and freshwater-themed events. Each community can celebrate its unique geographical and cultural connections to local waters, the ocean, and coastal areas. The festival is part of a multi-sector effort to ensure Canada protects 30% of its ocean area by 2030.

Ocean Week Canada 2023 celebrations will include a traveling giant ocean floor map/Augmented Reality experience, science talks and book readings, art exhibits and performances, water quality testing, shoreline tours and cleanups, and film screenings. In addition, acclaimed director James Cameron’s DEEPSEA CHALLENGER will be on display in Ottawa beginning June 5.

Participants in Ocean Week Canada 2023 can explore a range of ocean-themed topics, including:

  • Marine conservation including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
  • Ocean careers and the Blue Economy
  • Marine and freshwater biodiversity
  • Climate change and weather emergencies
  • Ocean science communications and the arts
  • Food, culture, and heritage

A complete list of events and activities is available online at OceanWeek.ca. The website also contains toolkits and video collections to help parents, guardians, teachers, and other community group leaders incorporate ocean knowledge and stories into their activities.

Ocean Week Canada is coordinated by the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition with the participation of over a dozen national partners and more than 160 local event hosts –  www.OceanWeek.ca/partners.

 

Quotes

 

“The ocean sustains life, economy, and culture in our country. Protecting marine and coastal areas is a key nature-based solution to addressing climate change. Ocean Week Canada is an important nationwide celebration that helps us to recognize and celebrate the connection we all share to the ocean. By learning more about the ocean and engaging in marine conservation efforts, participants are helping Canada continue its leadership role in ocean protection.”
— The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

“The ocean sustains life, economy, and culture in our country. Protecting marine and coastal areas is a key nature-based solution to addressing climate change. Ocean Week Canada is an important nationwide celebration that helps us to recognize and celebrate the connection we all share to the ocean. By learning more about the ocean and engaging in marine conservation efforts, participants are helping Canada continue its leadership role in ocean protection.”
— The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

 

“It’s exciting to see all the different ways that artists, scientists, educators, and activists are connecting people in Canada to the ocean and local waterways leading to it. We are all connected to the ocean, yet each person and community experiences this connection in unique ways. Place matters. Stories matter. As we work together across regions, cultures, and scales, this annual celebration helps to ensure that we all better understand, value, and care for the ocean and each other.”
— Dr. Diz Glithero, National Lead, Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition      

“Ocean Week Canada brings together ocean knowledge from diverse sources—ocean observing, natural and social sciences, Indigenous knowledge, modelling, technology, data science, and more—making it accessible worldwide. Ocean Networks Canada is proud to be part of this annual event to inspire Canadians to advocate for an ocean future that builds a resilient planet.”
— Dr. Kate Moran, President, Ocean Networks Canada

“Canadian Geographic is pleased to be a core partner of Ocean Week Canada, bringing innovative educational tools like the giant ocean floor map and engagement opportunities like the PRESSURE exhibit to this important national collaboration. Together, we can make Canada’s marine and freshwaters better known to Canadians and the world.”
— John Geiger, CM, CEO, Canadian Geographic 

“The Indigenous Leadership Initiative is a proud partner in this national collaboration and the special attention paid to featuring and learning from Indigenous-led ocean and water conservation and stewardship by Indigenous Guardians.”
— Valerie Courtois, Director, Indigenous Leadership Initiative 

“Reconnecting Quebecers to their marine environment is crucial in the era of climate change, but it is especially important to raise awareness in a positive and enriching way about the major issues that threaten our oceans. For us, it is crucial to continue to offer content and initiatives in French to raise awareness of the ocean and the St. Lawrence River among the French-speaking population.”
— Anne-Marie Asselin, cofondatrice et présidente de L’Organisation Bleue

 

Quick Facts

 

  • Ocean Week Canada is coordinated by the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition with a team of national partners: Canadian Geographic, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Network for Ocean Educators (CaNOE),  Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) Canada, Entremission, Hakai Institute, Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Ocean School (a collaboration of the National Film Board of Canada and Dalhousie University), Ocean Networks Canada, Organisation Bleu, SOI Foundation, and Water Rangers.
  • The guide to 160+ events across the country is online at OceanWeek.ca/events
  • Three established regional hubs help coordinate Ocean Week Canada 2023 events in Victoria (Ocean Week Victoria), Montreal (Semaine de l’ocean QC), and Halifax (Ocean Week Halifax).
  • Ocean Week Canada is part of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition’s broader National Strategy, which  is made possible through a contribution of $5.3 million from Fisheries and Oceans Canada over three years (2023-2026) through the Oceans Management Contribution Program.
  • There is only one global ocean! Canada borders the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, which are all part of the same body of water covering 70% of the Earth.
  • Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world. It is 243 797 km long.
  • In July 2020, Canada joined the Global Ocean Alliance which is advocating to protect at least 30 percent of the global ocean by 2030. (Source) In February 2023, Canada announced the country is on track to meet this conservation target. (Source)

 

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE (PDF)
 

Contact

Ocean Week Canada spokespeople, scientists, and local event hosts are available for interviews. Media are also encouraged to attend public events. 

Meghan Callon, Communications Lead
Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition and Ocean Week Canada
519-501-3027
media@colcoalition.ca

Krystyn Tully, Media Support
Entremission
(438) 943-4862
info@entremission.com

 
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