Pressures on the supply of fresh water pose challenges that will affect Canada’s “long-term security and prosperity” if left unaddressed, an internal government memo warns.
The document, prepared for Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin, stresses a need to assess how Canada protects and sustainably manages freshwater resources — including waters shared with the United States — and how it responds to global water risks.
“Canadians will need more water to grow our cities and our economy, but it is unclear whether Canada is water secure for the long term,” the memo says.
The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the memo, written for Dabrusin by the Canada Water Agency, a federal organization that works to improve freshwater management.
Portions of the 12-page document were withheld under a provision of the law that allows the government to shield advice or recommendations from release.
The memo was intended to update the minister on the development of a national water security strategy. It says Dabrusin identified such a strategy as “a mission critical priority” in her reply to a call from Prime Minister Mark Carney for key portfolio objectives for cabinet members and secretaries of state.
A public consultation on developing the water security strategy took place from Sept. 9 through Oct. 25. Water stewardship is a shared responsibility in Canada and the water agency also engaged directly with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners.
The memo to Dabrusin underscores the urgency of the exercise.
It says although Canada has 20 per cent of the world’s surface fresh water, only one-third is salt-free and replaced annually through precipitation.
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Most of Canada’s renewable surface fresh water drains northward, away from the most populated regions and economic centres located within 300 kilometres of the Canada-United States border, the document adds.
It says groundwater aquifers — Canada’s largest freshwater resource — are unmapped in some parts of the country, even though almost one in three Canadians rely on groundwater for their supply of clean water.
Climate change is affecting where and when fresh water is available, the memo says. It warns some parts of Canada are facing, or could soon face, restricted or depleting water supplies, even in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin.
It says in many of Canada’s settled areas, water is polluted and is either unsuitable for human, animal or industrial use or is usable only after treatment at a high cost.
For the 2021 to 2023 period, for example, 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 says.
While progress is being made to restore the quality of large lake systems, protecting them from major stressors is challenging. Complex freshwater ecosystems like the lower Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg remain in fair or poor condition, the document adds.
It says water quality data for northern rivers and lakes and groundwater aquifers is limited, making it difficult to assess the health of these resources.
“Overall, freshwater ecosystems across southern Canada are under stress, which poses risks to water security, due to factors including a rapidly changing climate, shifts in land-use, population growth, pollution, overconsumption, and aging and inadequate water infrastructure,” the memo says.
“The Arctic and the North also face critical issues from increased development and climate change impacts on already overwhelmed infrastructure. Furthermore, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities are among the most water insecure in Canada.”
More than 40 per cent of the border between Canada and the United States crosses water, the document notes. It says these transboundary waters provide drinking water, hydro power, navigation, recreation, irrigation and support for biodiversity in both countries. Tens of millions of people live and work along these shared waters.
While the two nations are parties to over a dozen bilateral freshwater agreements, “new water-related disputes could emerge and become more frequent” as freshwater supplies in North America shrink and demands rise, the memo warns.
It says the pressures on Canada’s water emerge against a global backdrop of declining water security due to climate change, population growth and industrial pollution.
“For decades, Canadians have been raising concerns about the possibility of fresh water being exported in bulk to the U.S. and beyond,” the memo says. “Some Canadians strongly oppose diverting lakes and rivers, and this opposition has extended to any form of bulk export of water.”
On a positive note, actions to strengthen water security in Canada can create “significant development opportunities,” as long-term access to sufficient supplies of water will become a strategic advantage in a water-stressed world, the document says.
It points out that more than half of Canada’s electricity comes from hydro power, which supports the shift to cleaner energy and a low-carbon economy.
“Water storage and irrigation is critical to high-value crop production, particularly in the Prairies and interior British Columbia, as well as the greenhouse sector,” the memo adds.
“Major manufacturing industries are among the largest users of water in Canada and growing Canada’s digital economy will depend on a secure and sustainably managed water supply.”
