[6] Early legislation in Canada applied exclusionary policies and forcibly removed Indigenous peoples off lands in order to create national parks.[8][9] Lobbied heavily for by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Act outlined the national parks model which balanced conservation as well as development.[11] Passed by the government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act received royal assent on May 19, 1911.National park reserves are defined as protected areas that have not yet been brought under federal jurisdiction due to outstanding matters (such as aboriginal rights).[24][25][23] Similarly in 1907, with the creation of Jasper National Park, Métis families who had been living in the area were suddenly declared "squatters".Sections 3 and 4 of the Rocky Mountains Act stated that "no person shall locate, settle upon, use or occupy any portion of the said public park" and gave the Minister of the Interior and Governor in Council the right to make regulations for "the removal and exclusion of trespassers".[30] According to the Canada National Parks Act, ecological integrity within a national park is defined as "a condition that is determined to be characteristic of its natural region and likely to persist, including abiotic components and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes".[30] In response to such criticism, Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine Mckenna promised a renewed focus of the Agency on conservation within parks with special attention to protecting ecological integrity and implementing more science-based decision-making.
Banff Park—Canada's first National Park
Nahanni National Park Reserve was one of the first established park reserves in Canada.