National node - Canada

Introducing ECOP Canada

ECOP Canada is the Canada network for the Global ECOP Programme, endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade

ECOP Canada en français

ECOP Canada aims to achieve intergenerational equity by strengthening the diverse voices of early career ocean professionals. Through our network of ocean partners and ECOPs, we aim to address the following needs outlined in Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy:

Adapt to generational values, innovation, and interests.
[Re]build early career professionals connections to the ocean.
Develop and communicate clear career pathways.
Support experiential learning opportunities.
Support and create sector strategies to introduce ECOPs to career opportunities.

Who is an ECOP in Canada?

An early career ocean professional (ECOP) is anyone who makes their living from a healthy ocean.
An ECOP is a person that self-identifies as being early in their career (10 years or less of professional experience) within any occupation related to the ocean (not only employed/paid positions).
ECOPs will be the ones to inherit the decisions made about the ocean today as well as leadership roles in the blue economy.

Why empower ECOPs in Canada now?

We are at a pivotal time in which leadership, innovation, and emerging technologies could help us deal with and solve environmental challenges, while introducing new ocean sectors.
Now is the time to take action by supporting the next generation of ocean leaders to meet the goals of the UN Ocean Decade and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Canada has the longest coastline in the world. ECOP Canada creates meaningful engagement and hope through community building from coast to coast to coast.
By supporting our network, ECOPs in Canada will help achieve international leadership and a Blue Economy that is environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, and economically viable.

Join the ECOP Canada Community on Slack

Are you an early career ocean professional in Canada? Fill out the form below and we’ll email you an invite to join our online community. Slack is the place where you can connect with fellow ECOPs and access meaningful opportunities like jobs, training, funding, events, collaborations, ocean leadership, and more!

ECOP Canada Coordination Unit

ECOP Canada welcomes you to join the network and share your country’s activities and opportunities related to the UN Decade.

For any questions or inquiries, please contact:

Ashley Bowes
Email: canada@ecopdecade.org

ECOP Canada Steering Committee

Workshop (January 19, 2022): Engaging Early Career Ocean Professionals in the UN Ocean Decade

The ECOP Programme’s participation at ICES/PICES launched the first of ECOP Canada’s interactive and networking workshops to engage early-career ocean professionals on their role in the UN Ocean Decade. We asked them: How do you view the 7 Ocean Decade Outcomes? What do you think needs to happen under each of the 7 outcomes to achieve the ocean we want this decade?

Register for the CMOS 57th Congress and ORCA National Meeting 2023 in St. John’s, Newfoundland happening May 28th to June 2nd, 2023.

The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) 57th Congress is coming up on May 28 – June 1, 2023 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

CMOS has partnered with the Oceans Research in Canada Alliance (ORCA), who will be holding their National Meeting at the same location from June 1 – 2, 2023.

ECOP Canada will be there to host and participate in workshops, talks, and networking events with our ocean partners in Canada and internationally.

Register for the Coastal Zone Canada Conference 2023 in Victoria, BC happening June 11 – 15th

Join the The Coastal Zone Canada Association (CZCA), ECOP Canada, and many other ocean partners in Victoria, BC from June 11th to 15th for the Coastal Zone Canada Conference 2023. This is an opportunity to:

Engaging keynote speakers, panel discussions and break-out groups
Network with hundreds of people with a passion for the coastal environment

How have ECOPs made an impact at IMPAC5?

In February, ECOP Canada and the Global ECOP Programme’s inspiring community of early career ocean professionals (ECOPs) and allies came together at the The 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver, BC. As a UN Ocean Decade endorsed project, our goal is to ensure the diverse voices of ECOPs are included in high-level decisions made about the ocean’s future.Early Career Ocean Professionals who participated in IMPAC5 demonstrated to the global stage that ECOPs are already the ocean leaders we need to take action on transformative solutions to care for the ocean for every generation.

Many ECOPs and allies came out of their experiences at IMPAC5 feeling empowered to come together as a community to uplift each other’s work and collectively reach ambitious targets like 30×30 and solutions to meet the Ocean Decade Outcomes.

What were our highlights?

We supported the participation of 15 ECOP Canada members at IMPAC5 with stipends for registration and travel. Thank you to this incredible ECOP Canada cohort for rocking it! We aim to support more ECOPs in the future who are unable to attend conferences due to financial barriers.
Many thanks to the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition for supporting ECOP Canada members with funding to show up and make waves at IMPAC5. Your ongoing dedication to empower future and current ocean leaders with impactful opportunities in Canada’s ocean literacy space and blue economy is inspiring!
We engaged and collected perspectives from over 70 ECOPs at our Ocean Decade Workshop at the #NatureforAll Youth Archipelago. We will share and amplify these ECOP views beyond IMPAC5.
We engaged with a lot of folks nationally and internationally that had no information on the Ocean Decade and informed them opportunities to participate and strengthen their voice.
We teamed up with Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Parley Ocean Uprise, and Ocean Wise to host the first-ever, “Building Bridges” networking event at the Ocean Wise office in Vancouver, BC.
This social event facilitated networking for 100+ young professionals and connected ocean leaders with each other to build community and capacity. High level decision-makers attended and met with the next bench of environmental leaders.
We engaged many ECOPs and collaborators who floated into #NatureforAll Youth Archipelago to learn our network and how to get involved.
We hosted a panel with SOA, Parley Ocean Uprise, UBC, First Nations Fisheries Council, and Ocean Wise Ocean Bridge on “The Voice of Young Professionals: Advancing 30×30 and Protecting Boundaries Beyond National Jurisdiction,” at the IUCN Pavilion. Speakers were talented young people and ECOPs who have contributed to movements and initiatives that advance 30×30 and deep-sea protection.
7 ECOP delegates took over our Instagram Stories (@ecopcanada) throughout IMPAC5 to share their experiences and insights with our national audience of ECOPs and ocean partners.
We’re so excited to keep sharing the perspectives, insights, and experiences of ECOPs with our network in Canada and internationally beyond IMPAC5 and the Ocean Decade.

COP15

Montreal, QC | December 7-19, 2022

📣 UN Ocean Decade event @ #COP15!

🌀”An Ocean of Life” explored the challenges and opportunities to move from knowledge to action in marine and coastal ecosystems.

ECOP Fae Sapsford was part of the panel for: Marine and coastal biodiversity knowledge needs for policy and society in the context of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework – talking about her work with the Sargasso Sea Commission.

ARCTICNET

Hosted in Toronto, December 4 – 8, 2022, the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting 2022 (ASM2022) is a hub for Arctic and northern research in Canada. Engaging with early career researchers at ArcticNet will ensure the voices of ECOPs from coast to coast to coast are strengthened and heard.

Here are a few awesome highlights & achievements from our time at the conference:

We engaged with a lot of folks that had no information on the decade and informed them of opportunities to participate and strengthen their voice.
38 early career researchers signed up as ECOP Canada members
We rocked our interactive workshop and collected perspectives on the Ocean Decade from around 50 early-career researchers
We gave out 1136 specially designed stickers of Narwhal, Humpback Whale, and Great Pacific Octopus.
ArcticNet’s ASM 2022 marked the first conference in which our ECOP Canada t-shirts made an appearance – we feel so official!
We supported a Red River Metis-settler interdisciplinary researcher and beadwork artist, Danielle Nowosad by purchasing a handmade beaded pin of a water drop. This was our first prize giveaway to early career researchers who signed up for free ECOP Canada membership at our table.
We engaged many early career researchers who floated into the Ocean, Freshwater, and Us room to check out the giant floor map and augmented reality (AR) experience to explore marine environments and watersheds in Canada. Thanks to our partners at Ocean Week Canada, the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, and SOI Foundation for this successful collaboration.
We joined many incredible researchers and designs at the two poster sessions to present our poster on Early Career Ocean Professional Landscape in Canada: Needs, Beliefs and Ideas.
We were featured as special guests at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the ORCA booth to engage participants on Canada’s Ocean Decade and ECOPs’ role in the Decade.
We helped fund the participation at ArcticNet’s ASM of 5 early-career researchers whose work focuses on the Arctic.

We hosted a Webinar: Postsecondary & Early Career Toolkit – How your talent can make an impact in the ocean sector with Ocean Networks Canada and Ocean Week Canada

Are you an early career professional or student looking to explore opportunities in the ocean sector?
On November 29th we hosted a webinar to learn more about the Postsecondary & Early Career toolkit, an online resource that features career pathways and professional networks in the ocean sector, as well as information on ocean health and sustainability.

Take the Survey

Calling all Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) in Canada we need you! We are on a mission to empower ECOPs with meaningful opportunities during the UN Ocean Decade. Take a few mins to voice your needs here .

Share Your Story

By sharing your story of why you became an oceanpreneur/innovator, we hope to empower post-secondary students and early career professionals from all interdisciplinaries to explore a career path (or side hustle) that will create a positive change for the ocean and support their own livelihoods.

Ready to inspire others? Record a 1-2 minute video in English or French on Flipgrid here to tell us more about your story and advice to post-secondary students and early career professionals.

Join the Ocean Week Canada & Summer Ocean Festival Celebrations!

ECOP Canada is thrilled to be partnered with the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition and 13 other incredible partner organizations for the Ocean Week Canada and Ocean Festival. This national celebration will create a surge of awareness about the ocean and strengthen our appreciation of the waterways that connect us, inland to the sea. Visit: oceanweekcan.ca

Are you a post-secondary student or early career professional? Head to the Learning Hub to check out the post-secondary and early career toolkit created in collaboration with Ocean Networks Canada and the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition.