An internal federal memo says pressures on freshwater supply could affect Canada’s “long-term security and prosperity” and urges work on a water security strategy.
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An internal federal memo warns that pressures on the supply of fresh water could affect Canada’s “long-term security and prosperity” if they are left unaddressed.
The memo was prepared for Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin by the Canada Water Agency as part of work to develop a national water security strategy, according to the document obtained through the Access to Information Act.
The memo describes the strategy as “a mission critical priority” in Dabrusin’s reply to a call from Prime Minister Mark Carney for key portfolio objectives for cabinet members and secretaries of state.
The memo, described as a 12-page document, includes portions withheld under an Access to Information provision that allows the government to shield advice or recommendations from release.
It says Canadians will need more water to grow cities and the economy, adding that it is unclear whether Canada is water secure for the long term.
The memo notes that Canada has 20 per cent of the world’s surface fresh water, but only one-third is salt-free and replaced annually through precipitation.
It says most of Canada’s renewable surface fresh water drains northward, away from populated regions and economic centres located within 300 kilometres of the Canada-United States border.
The document says groundwater aquifers—described as Canada’s largest freshwater resource—are unmapped in some parts of the country, and it says almost one in three Canadians rely on groundwater for their supply of clean water.
The memo warns that climate change is affecting where and when fresh water is available and that some parts of Canada face, or could soon face, restricted or depleting water supplies, including within the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River basin.
It also says that in many settled areas, water is polluted and either unsuitable for human, animal or industrial use or usable only after treatment at high cost.
For the 2021 to 2023 period, the memo says water quality at 49 per cent of 165 monitoring sites in southern Canadian rivers was rated as excellent or good, while water at 51 per cent of the sites was rated as fair to poor.
The memo adds that while progress is being made to restore the quality of large lake systems, protecting them from major stressors is challenging, and it says complex freshwater ecosystems including the lower Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg remain in fair or poor condition.
It further states that limited water quality data for northern rivers and lakes and groundwater aquifers makes it difficult to assess the health of those resources.
The memo warns that “freshwater ecosystems across southern Canada are under stress,” describing risks to water security tied to factors including rapidly changing climate, shifts in land-use, population growth, pollution, overconsumption, and aging and inadequate water infrastructure.
It says the Arctic and the North also face critical issues from increased development and climate change impacts on already overwhelmed infrastructure.
According to the memo, First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities are among the most water insecure in Canada.
The document also points to Canada’s shared freshwater systems with the United States, noting that more than 40 per cent of the border crosses water and that transboundary waters support drinking water, hydro power, navigation, recreation, irrigation and biodiversity for both countries.
It says tens of millions of people live and work along the shared waters, and it warns that “new water-related disputes could emerge and become more frequent” as freshwater supplies shrink and demands rise.
The memo describes Canada and the United States as parties to more than a dozen bilateral freshwater agreements, and it says the global backdrop includes declining water security due to climate change, population growth and industrial pollution.
The memo says concerns in Canada have included the possibility of bulk export of fresh water, adding that “some Canadians strongly oppose diverting lakes and rivers, and this opposition has extended to any form of bulk export of water.”
It also says actions to strengthen water security in Canada can create “significant development opportunities,” pointing to hydropower as a major source of electricity and adding that water storage and irrigation are critical to high-value crop production in the Prairies and parts of interior British Columbia.
The memo says major manufacturing industries are among the largest users of water in Canada, and it adds that Canada’s growing digital economy will depend on a secure and sustainably managed water supply.
A public consultation on developing the water security strategy ran from Sept. 9 through Oct. 25, the memo says, and it adds that water stewardship is a shared responsibility that included engagement by the water agency with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners.
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