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Four years, $10,000, one frog: Inside Parks Canada’s costly frog cull

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Ryan Thorpe

It took Parks Canada four years and $10,000 to capture a bullfrog in British Columbia.

“Kids spend zero dollars actually catching frogs, but Parks Canada managed to spend several years and thousands of tax dollars not capturing a single frog,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Did Parks Canada put Mr. Magoo in charge of this particular operation?”

Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, Parks Canada launched a series of unsuccessful culls of the American Bullfrog at the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, according to access-to-information records obtained by the CTF.

The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a collection of 15 islands and 30 islets off the southern coast of B.C.

In 2018-19, Parks Canada spent $1,920 attempting to cull the American Bullfrog from these lands, but did not manage to kill a single frog.

The following year, Parks Canada spent $2,000 and again struck out.

The cull took a temporary hiatus in 2020-21, according to the records.

In 2021-22, Parks Canada spent another $2,207 on the cull, but once again failed to kill any bullfrogs.

Finally, in 2022-23, after years of failure, Parks Canada spent $3,882 and managed to kill one frog.

Between the years of 2018-19 and 2022-23, Parks Canada spent $10,009 on these frog hunts, capturing a single American Bullfrog in the process.

“The frogs appear to be slipping through the fingers of Parks Canada bureaucrats just as fast as our tax dollars are,” Terrazzano said. “Parks Canada keeps proving it’s very bad at hunting, but very good at wasting money.”

The American Bullfrog is the largest species of frog in North America, and is native to southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was “introduced” to B.C., according to the Canadian Encyclopaedia.

A Parks Canada brochure for the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve describes American Bullfrogs as “real bullies” that “prey on any animal they can overpower and stuff down their throat.”

In 2023-24, Parks Canada’s annual bullfrog hunt at the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve finally hit the jackpot, killing 100 bull frogs at a price tag of $5,079.

The frogs killed by Parks Canada so far have come at a hit to taxpayers of $149 a head.

The records obtained by the CTF detail all Parks Canada animal culls conducted between the years of 2018-19 and 2023-24, as well as any planned future spending.

During that time period, Parks Canada spent a combined $2.6 million on animal hunts targeting moose, deer, doves, foxes, frogs and rats, alongside different species of fish.

Parks Canada plans to spend an additional $3.3 million on animal culls in the coming years. The overall animal cull bill that Parks Canada plans to send to taxpayers sits at $5.9 million.

The highest profile of these animal culls is taking place on Sidney Island in B.C., with Parks Canada spending more than $800,000 on phase one of the hunting operation, which took down 84 deer, at a cost of $10,000 a head.

Residents of Sidney Island organized their own hunt last fall, killing 54 deer at no cost to taxpayers.

So far, Parks Canada has employed exotically expensive hunting techniques on Sidney Island, bringing in expert marksmen from the U.S. and New Zealand and renting a helicopter for $67,000.

Phase two of the operation is set for this fall and will involve ground hunting with dogs.

That deer hunt is part of a $12-million Parks Canada project, officially called the Fur To Forest program, aimed at eradicating the European fallow deer population on Sidney Island and restoring native vegetation, tree seedlings and shrubs.

“The Sidney Island deer hunt has already proven to be an utter disaster and Parks Canada should cut taxpayers’ losses and cancel phase two,” Terrazzano said. “Parks Canada should stop cosplaying as Rambo on the hunt for deer and frogs before it wastes even more of our money.”

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Alberta

It’s On! Alberta Challenging Liberals Unconstitutional and Destructive Net-Zero Legislation

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“If Ottawa had it’s way Albertans would be left to freeze in the dark”

The ineffective federal net-zero electricity regulations will not reduce emissions or benefit Albertans but will increase costs and lead to supply shortages.

The risk of power outages during a hot summer or the depths of harsh winter cold snaps, are not unrealistic outcomes if these regulations are implemented. According to the Alberta Electric System Operator’s analysis, the regulations in question would make Alberta’s electricity system more than 100 times less reliable than the province’s supply adequacy standard. Albertans expect their electricity to remain affordable and reliable, but implementation of these regulations could increase costs by a staggering 35 per cent.

Canada’s constitution is clear. Provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the development, conservation and management of sites and facilities in the province for the generation and production of electrical energy. That is why Alberta’s government is referring the constitutionality of the federal government’s recent net-zero electricity regulations to the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

“The federal government refused to work collaboratively or listen to Canadians while developing these regulations. The results are ineffective, unachievable and irresponsible, and place Albertans’ livelihoods – and more importantly, lives – at significant risk. Our government will not accept unconstitutional net-zero regulations that leave Albertans vulnerable to blackouts in the middle of summer and winter when they need electricity the most.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

“The introduction of the Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta by the federal government is another example of dangerous federal overreach. These regulations will create unpredictable power outages in the months when Albertans need reliable energy the most. They will also cause power prices to soar in Alberta, which will hit our vulnerable the hardest.”

Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Finalized in December 2024, the federal electricity regulations impose strict carbon limits on fossil fuel power, in an attempt to force a net-zero grid, an unachievable target given current technology and infrastructure. The reliance on unproven technologies makes it almost impossible to operate natural gas plants without costly upgrades, threatening investment, grid reliability, and Alberta’s energy security.

“Ottawa’s electricity regulations will leave Albertans in the dark. They aren’t about reducing emissions – they are unconstitutional, ideological activist policies based on standards that can’t be met and technology that doesn’t exist. It will drive away investment and punish businesses, provinces and families for using natural gas for reliable, dispatchable power. We will not put families at risk from safety and affordability impacts – rationing power during the coldest days of the year – and we will continue to stand up for Albertans.”

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

“Albertans depend on electricity to provide for their families, power their businesses and pursue their dreams. The federal government’s Clean Electricity Regulations threaten both the affordability and reliability of our power grid, and we will not stand by as these regulations put the well-being of Albertans at risk.”

Nathan Neudorf, Minister of Affordability and Utilities

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Alberta

Alberta’s future in Canada depends on Carney’s greatest fear: Trump or Climate Change

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Oh, Canada

We find it endlessly fascinating that most Canadians believe they live in a representative democracy, where aspiring candidates engage in authentic politicking to earn their place in office. So accustomed are Canada’s power brokers to getting their way, they rarely bother to cover their tracks. A careful reading of the notoriously pliant Canadian press makes anticipating future events in the country surprisingly straightforward.

Back in December, when Pierre Poilievre was given better than 90% odds of replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—and Mark Carney was still just an uncharismatic banker few had heard of—we engaged in some not-so-speculative dot-connecting and correctly predicted Carney’s rise to the top spot. Our interest was driven by the notoriously rocky relationship between Ottawa and the Province of Alberta, home to one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves, and how Carney’s rise might be a catalyst for resetting Canada’s energy trajectory. In a follow-up article titled “The Fix Is In,” we laid out a few more predictions:

Here’s how the play is likely to unfold in the weeks and months ahead: Carney will be elected Prime Minister on April 28 by a comfortable margin; [Alberta Premier Danielle] Smith will trigger a constitutional crisis, providing cover for Carney to strike a grand bargain that finally resolves longstanding tensions between the provinces and Ottawa; and large infrastructure permitting reform will fall into place. Protests against these developments will be surprisingly muted, and those who do take to the streets will be largely ignored by the media. The entire effort will be wrapped in a thicket of patriotism, with Trump portrayed as a threat even greater than climate change itself. References to carbon emissions will slowly fade…

In parallel, we expect Trump and Carney to swiftly strike a favorable deal on tariffs, padding the latter’s bona fides just as his political capital will be most needed.

The votes have barely been counted, yet the next moves are already unfolding

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’ll make it easier for citizens to initiate a referendum on the province’s future in Canada, after warning that a Liberal win in Monday’s election could spur a groundswell of support for Alberta separatism. Smith said on Tuesday that a newly tabled elections bill will give everyday Albertans a bigger say in the province’s affairs.

‘(We’re giving) Albertans more ways to be directly involved in democracy, and to have their say on issues that matter to them,’ Smith told reporters in Edmonton.

If passed, the new law would dramatically lower the number of signatures needed to put a citizen-proposed constitutional referendum question on the ballot, setting a new threshold of 10 per cent of general election turnout — or just over 175,000, based on Alberta’s last provincial election in 2023.

exactly to plan:

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to make a trade deal and will visit the White House within the next week. Trump said he congratulated Carney on his election victory when the Canadian leader called on Tuesday.

‘He called me up yesterday – he said let’s make a deal,’ Trump told reporters at the White House after a televised Cabinet meeting.

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