As part of Canada's national strategy for the protection of species at risk, the federal government established the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) for Species at Risk. The HSP became operational in 2000-2001 and allocates up to $10 million per year to projects that conserve and protect species at risk and their habitats.

The overall goal of the HSP is to "contribute to the recovery of endangered, threatened, and other species at risk, and to prevent other species from becoming a conservation concern, by engaging Canadians from all walks of life in conservation actions to benefit wildlife."

The HSP provides funding to "stewards" for implementing activities that protect or conserve habitats for species designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as nationally "at risk" (endangered, threatened, or of special concern). These activities must take place on private lands, provincial Crown lands, Aboriginal lands, or in aquatic and marine areas across Canada. The program also fosters partnerships among organizations interested in the recovery of species at risk. As such, it supports many organizations and individuals in their efforts to meet the requirements of the National Recovery Program and the Species at Risk Act.

The HSP is one of the five main federal funding programs that are centred on the protection and recovery of species at risk and are being implemented by Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Parks Canada Agency. The four other federal funding programs directly involved in the protection and recovery of species at risk are the Interdepartmental Recovery Fund, the Endangered Species Recovery Fund, the Aboriginal Capacity Building Fund and the Aboriginal Critical Habitat Protection Fund.