Launched in 1995 as part of the federal government's efforts to protect Canada's biodiversity and environmental heritage, the Ecological Gifts Program is administered by Environment Canada in cooperation with federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and non-governmental partners.

The Program is made possible by the terms of the Income Tax Act. Amendments to the Act in the  1995, 1997 and 2000 federal budgets significantly enhanced the tax assistance for donations of ecologically sensitive land, easements, covenants and servitudes. In Quebec, the Taxation Act (Loi sur les impôts) sets out a similar tax treatment.

To date, over 466 ecogifts valued at over $135.6 million have been donated across Canada, protecting 43,900 hectares of wildlife habitat. More than one-third of these ecogifts contain areas designated as being of national or provincial significance, and many are home to some of Canada's species at risk.