Nature-based Solutions can mitigate carbon emissions and provide multiple ecosystem services that improve the well-being of humanity. However, their performance is poorly understood. We assessed publicly available data from Canadian projects that could be considered Nature-based Solutions (NbS) according to the IUCN Nature-based Solutions framework. Across three sectors (government, industry, and Indigenous) we observed a general lack of standardized monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), and high variability in funding mechanisms. This hinders NbS effectiveness, deters further financing and renders MRV difficult to properly integrate in Nationally-Determined Contributions. We also observed geographic and ecosystem coverage gaps that exclude key regions, stakeholders, and ecosystems within Canada. The effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) is fundamental to equitable and effective climate and biodiversity action. Five principles are highlighted to promote effective NbS codesign and implementation with IPLC. Novel artificial intelligence and machine learning methods can also help overcome current gaps in the Canadian NbS landscape, but more research is needed to determine the full scope of limitations and benefits of these big-data driven approaches.