441-01508 (Public safety)

As our country's largest natural and cultural tourism provider, Parks Canada is committed to providing visitors with safe and meaningful experiences. When it comes to water safety, Parks Canada recognizes that a regional, multi-faceted approach is required. To achieve this, Parks Canada collaborates with various partners to implement the CoastSmart Program, a regional coastal safety campaign that focuses on prevention messaging for all unsupervised beaches in the region.

The Surf Guard program, which ran during the summer months in a popular section of Long Beach, concluded in 2012 as it was no longer aligned with evolving surf and water recreation practices in the region. Water activity now takes place year round in the region, stretching across a broad network of beaches, with activities ranging from surfing, to stand up paddle boarding, storm watching, and more.

The Surf Guard program only monitored one section of Long Beach for two-and-a-half months between June and August of the year. With 16 kilometres of beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s Long Beach Unit alone, it is not feasible to provide Surf Guard services over such a dispersed area and throughout the year.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve aligns with all surf beaches on the Pacific Coast of Canada from Sombrio Beach on southern Vancouver Island to North Beach on Haida Gwaii, which are not supervised. It is the responsibility of visitors to assess risks and make informed decisions.

The Agency has partnered with Ucluelet and Tofino to raise awareness of water hazards through the CoastSmart program. The public awareness campaign shares the key risks of recreating on or near water, whether surfing, beach walking, or engaging in many other coastal activities. Education is one of the most effective ways to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve provides information to visitors through online platforms, signage, and the Coastal Stewards stationed on Long Beach during the summer. Together, these initiatives help visitors learn about ocean hazards and make informed decisions before and during their visit to the coast.

Parks Canada is focusing its efforts on visitor education and incident prevention in collaboration with others. For this reason, Parks Canada will not be reinstating the surf guard program at Long Beach and is working to reduce the risk by addressing risk factors identified by the International Life Saving Federation.