Canada

The first Waterkeeper organization in Canada was established in 1999. Today, there are eight programs distributed across four Canadian provinces. The demand for more is high. 

Steady success has made Waterkeeper Alliance the most powerful water advocacy movement in North America. Waterkeepers Canada is winning back Canada’s waterways. Canadian Waterkeepers patrol some of the most magnificent waterways in the world, including the Great Lakes, tidal bays and glacial rivers. The challenges they face are similar to those of Waterkeepers worldwide, but the teamwork, strategy and energy they bring to the movement are uniquely Canadian.

Major Victories:  

• The Petitcodiac Riverkeeper battled for 10 years to encourage the removal of the Moncton causeway. With the support of all levels of government, this causeway will be removed soon and the world’s second largest tidal river will be restored. Scientists expect that all fish species except one will return to the river within a few years.
• The Lake Ontario Waterkeeper won a groundbreaking provincial case on industrial air emissions. As a result, every new industrial emissions permit in Ontario must consider site-specific issues such as historic contamination, neighbouring facilities, and public concerns. This approach helps communities restore areas of the province once considered lost to pollution.
• The Fraser Riverkeeper investigated sewage pollution in the Vancouver area, drawing international attention to sewage pollution on the Pacific Coast and support for halting the release of untreated human waste into the world’s largest ocean.

Waterkeepers also work on key restoration projects (such as the removal of causeways on tidal rivers) and education initiatives (such as promoting water conservation on glacial rivers).

Click here for a list of Waterkeeper Organizations in Canada.