The Canada Water Agency has launched as a standalone federal entity headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after being conceived in 2019.
Previously within Environment and Climate Change Canada for an interim period, the new independent agency was funded by a $650-million investment outlined in Budget 2023. The agency will also have funding of $85.1 million over five years, with $21 million ongoing thereafter.
The agency will have five regional offices across Canada to “ensure responsiveness” to local freshwater issues, an October 16 announcement states. Its headquarters address in Winnipeg is 510-234 Donald Street.
The agency’s mandate aims to strengthen freshwater management in Canada by providing leadership and improved coordination and collaboration federally and with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples.
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“We look forward to the increased opportunities for collaboration that will come from having the Canada Water Agency here in Manitoba, and our government is pleased to work together with the federal government, Indigenous communities, other freshwater experts, and all stakeholders to ensure the health of our waterways for generations to come,” announced Manitoba Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Tracy Schmidt.
The agency is based in Winnipeg in part due to its Indigenous connections, as well as its proximity to Lake Winnipeg, one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes. The agency will administer Freshwater Ecosystem Initiatives funding programs in eight waterbodies of national significance: the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake of the Woods, Lake Simcoe, the St. Lawrence River, the Mackenzie River, the Fraser River, and the Wolastoq/Saint John River. Over the coming years, the Canada Water Agency will provide grants and contributions to hundreds of projects supporting the restoration and protection of freshwater in Canada.
Starting in 2024, the Canada Water Agency has committed to providing more than $90 million in grants and contributions to 175 different projects across the country to strengthen freshwater management in Canada.
The Canada Water Agency is developing a National Freshwater Data Strategy with partners and stakeholders. The strategy will establish guidelines and principles for how freshwater information should be organized, stored, and shared in Canada. The agency published a discussion paper on the creation of a National Freshwater Data Strategy on July 26, 2024, and accepted comments until September 15, 2024. It also hosted a workshop on September 25–26, 2024, to develop an outline and path forward for the strategy.
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 (which included the Canada Water Agency Act), received Royal Assent, paving the way for the creation of the standalone Canada Water Agency.
