Quebec’s park management agency, the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec, operates its own system
Is Québec really the only government in Canada that made the right choice? Maybe they should offer to run things for Parks Canada too, if the federal government has fallen so far into neoliberal neglect that it’s incapable of doing it on their own.
I assumed it’s because the crown corp running the park system was a huge cost to the government, which would come under fire in other provinces. But from Sépaq’s 2025 financial statment (PDF, in french) their income was $261.8 million and their expenses were $261.3 million giving them a profit of $459,000 which they say they reinvest into parks. Even small government advocates would have a hard time arguing this crown corp should be privatized.
Eh, BC rail was profitable, it still got privatised. And the corrupt government that broke a promise to sell it was re elected.
Hipcamp is pretty good for private and off the grid camping too. I’ve been using it more and finding great spots.
Go camping at your provincial or federal parks, they’re beautiful, inexpensive, and they have their own websites
There is a campground 25 mins from my house that used to be free. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I was rather put out that it was free for a very long time. I’m glad they finally started charging for it. $4 a night is still a bit low but at least it’s something to use to reinvest.
And Manitoba’s, where I live, are also run by them.
This is why for the most part, post-2020, I’ve stopped going to government campgrounds and usd forestry service sites instead.
It’s been really annoying that this closes off large chunks of backcountry camping as well; however, there’s still lots of backcountry where you pay to park your vehicle, not per-person in the backcountry, so the solution there is: park outside the park and walk/bicycle in to the trailhead.
