The federal government is moving ahead with a new policy initiative designed to make Canada's natural wealth more visible in economic decision-making.

Under the government's nature strategy, Ottawa is launching an Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Financing to develop recommendations on how the country can better account for the economic value of nature and encourage investment in conservation.

The taskforce will examine ways to integrate the value of ecosystems into decision-making and identify opportunities to attract private capital toward nature-positive projects.

The move is part of Canada's broader $3.8-billion nature strategy, which includes protecting land and water, supporting Indigenous-led conservation and developing financing tools for long-term environmental protection.

Ottawa argues that Canada's natural assets—including its forests, lakes, wetlands and coastal ecosystems—provide significant economic and environmental benefits. The government wants greater private-sector participation because public funding alone cannot close the financing gap for global biodiversity commitments.

The initiative could eventually influence how governments and investors assess infrastructure, conservation, natural resources and economic development projects.

For the federal government, the taskforce represents an attempt to connect environmental protection with economic policy while encouraging new investment models for Canada's natural assets.