Western Canada Wilderness Committee is a 4-star charity. The charity has a B+ Results Reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is 40%, outside Ci’s reasonable range, and its reserve funds can cover just under 8 months of annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range. 

Founded in 1980, Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) works to protect Canada’s natural environment through research and public education. WCWC has offices in Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia. The charity reports that it reaches 12 million people each year through its awareness activities. WCWC has three main campaign areas: Protecting Nature, Defending Wildlife, and Fighting Climate Change. The charity does not provide a breakdown of spending on these programs.  

Through its Protecting Nature program, WCWC advocates for the protection of provincial parks, forests, grasslands, and freshwater sources. In F2023, the charity published the Manitoba Duck Mountain Region Audit to analyse the impacts of logging in provincial parks, visiting 37 sections of logging roads and completing over 40km of inspections on foot. In a cross-Canada tour, the charity visited 11 locations to raise awareness on old-growth logging and at-risk species in F2023.  

The Defending Wildlife program campaigns for the protection of wildlife, especially species at risk, and their habitats. The species that the charity works to protect include the spotted owl, southern mountain caribou, boreal woodland caribou, and bees. The Wilderness Committee reported that it gathered 10,910 signatures for a petition to ban neonics, collaborating with 14 other environmental organizations to achieve nearly half a million signatures in total. 

The Fighting Climate Change program opposes gas, coal, and oil expansion with the goal of reducing emissions from these non-renewable energy sources. In F2024, the charity reported that its petition opposing liquified natural gas and fracking in B.C. gathered 113,987 signatures, with 76,336 signatures coming from B.C. residents.  

Western Canada Wilderness Committee’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means that its expenses are clearly defined between program, administration, and fundraising categories. 

The charity received $3.4m in Canadian donations and $272k in international donations in F2024.  It reported $11k in investment income in F2024.  

The charity spent $508k on administration, which is 14% of revenues in F2024. It spent $878k on fundraising, which is 26% of donations. This means that the total overhead costs are 40%. For every dollar donated, 60 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Charity Intelligence’s reasonable range of 65 to 95 cents.  

The charity reported a surplus of $239k and recorded $1.2m in its net reserve fund. This fund can cover 63%, or just under 8 months, of annual program costs. This is with Charity Intelligence’s reasonable limit of 300%. 

Profile updated by Leah Holmes on June 13, 2025. This charity report is an update that has been sent to the charity for review. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.