Today, Banff National Park is one of 39 national parks. These are located across Canada. Parks Canada, a federal government agency, is attempting to set aside land in each of the 39 ecologically distinct regions of Canada. The 39 national parks now in existence represent 25 of those distinct regions, so 14 are not yet represented.

Federal law aims to protect national parks for public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment, while being maintained in an unimpaired state for future generations. The national parks represent one way of preserving the biodiversity and natural heritage of northern North America.

The system of 39 national parks covers about 224,500 square kilometres, or about 2% of Canada's land mass. When the system is complete it will cover just over 3% of Canada. National parks range in size from a mere 8.7 km2 to 44,802 square kilometres. Some, like Vuntut, are located far from where most Canadians live and work. Others, like Banff, which is only one hour's drive from the city of Calgary, are so near to many people's homes that they risk being overrun by tourism.

Recently, Canadians have become aware that national parks are very difficult to manage. It is one thing to pass a law that prevents anyone from logging, mining, or hunting in a national park, but other examples of human activity in a landscape are more difficult to control.

For example, you might decide to prevent humans from using land that a grizzly bear covers in its normal search for food. But if you decided on this policy, you would have to close a huge part of the most scenic regions of Canada to tourism. Why? Because one male grizzly bear uses about 600 square kilometres as it ranges for food in any given year. Even hiking or horseback excursions in remote mountain valleys will have an influence on the ways that animals use land. Parks Canada struggles to maintain the physical environment in as natural a state as possible while allowing people to visit the beauty of all thirty-nine ecologically distinct regions of Canada.

The Canadian national parks form part of an international system of protected areas. This system is directed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.