The first Canadian bird sanctuary was created in Saskatchewan in 1887 and in 1907-1909, the federal govemment purchased 700 of the remaining bison (once 60 million strong) and placed them in national parks. These conservation efforts were important but, in effect, very modest initiatives.

The first bird sanctuary in North America was created at Last Mountain Lake in the Northwest Territories (present-day Saskatchewan). It was created thanks to the efforts of Edgar Dewdney, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories. Dewdney worried that settlement would destroy the breeding grounds of waterfowl such as the snipe and rare pelicans, and asked the federal government to protect the area. The Minister of the Interior agreed, and the lake’s islands and some shoreline were withdrawn from settlement.