“Elbows up for Nature”: Canadian public perceptions of Nature and Nature conservation in national identity and security

Amid accelerating biodiversity loss, climate change, and rising geopolitical tensions, understanding public perceptions of Nature’s role in national identity and security is increasingly important. Yet little is known about how Canadians themselves understand the place of Nature in national identity, prosperity, and security. To address this gap, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey of more than 2000 adults across Canada. Results show that Nature remains deeply embedded in Canadians’ sense of self and country: 74.6% reported that Nature is very or extremely important to their personal identity, and 84.8% viewed it as central to national identity. Majorities also saw Nature protection as essential to long-term prosperity (90.4%) and believed that loss of Nature erodes national identity (80.7%). Support for government leadership was strong, with 83.9% agreeing that Nature protection should be prioritized regardless of political party, and 77.9% endorsing Canada’s 30 × 30 conservation target. Respondents expressed preferences for even higher protection levels—averaging 64.5% of land/freshwater and 72.6% of ocean areas. Regional and demographic differences were evident, with females and Indigenous respondents showing the strongest alignment, while young adults expressed weaker national belonging yet favoured the highest protection targets. Together, these findings reveal a strong public mandate for integrating Nature into Canada’s policy, economic, and security agendas.