"Canada is blessed with exceptional natural treasures. We owe it to Canadians and to the world to be wise stewards of these lands and waters," Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in a speech to mark the announcement.

Chretien and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps said Ottawa also would do more to improve the existing system of parks, which critics say are suffering from a lack of funding.

Copps said Thursday's announcement was the most ambitious plan to expand the national parks system since the first park was established at Banff in 1885. The price tag will be revealed in the next federal budget in February 2003.

"National parks are in our hearts, they are important to our identity as Canadians. With this far-reaching plan, we are fulfilling a Canadian dream," said Copps.

Sites for seven of the new parks have been identified:

- the Gulf Islands in the western province of British Columbia, one of Canada's most biologically diverse and endangered natural regions

- Ukkusiksalik in the vast Arctic territory of Nunavut, home to polar bears, caribou, peregrine falcons and muskoxen

- the Torngat Mountains in the remote Atlantic region of Labrador, an area known for its mountains, fiords, polar bears and caribou

- the Mealy Mountains in Labrador, which feature upland bogs, boreal forests and wild rivers

- the Lowland forests in the prairie province of Manitoba, home to the longest sand spit in the country as well as rare bat caves and fresh-water marshes

- Bathurst Island in Nunavut, which is a major calving ground for the Peary caribou

- the East Arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, featuring spectacular cliffs and populations of moose, bear and wolf.

Parks Canada is still identifying sites for the three remaining parks.

The marine conservation areas will be created in the Gwaii Haanas islands in British Columbia, in western Lake Superior, in the Southern Strait of Georgia in British Columbia and two other as yet unidentified sites.

The nonprofit Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society welcomed the government's announcement but said Ottawa needed to put more money into the parks system.

"It is clear that parks will not be established nor will the declining health of existing national parks be addressed without money committed to the cause," said society vice president Harvey Locke.