Freshwater coordination and collaboration

Working closely with partners to advance the Freshwater Action Plan and build a strong approach to fresh water.

On this page

• Federal Freshwater Committee
• Federal Freshwater Hub
• Provinces and Territories - Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
• Indigenous partners
• Stakeholders
• Water One Window

How federal departments and agencies work together on fresh water

Initiatives to improve federal coordination and collaboration on fresh water.

Federal Freshwater Committee

In the Government of Canada, more than twenty departments and agencies work on freshwater-related files. The Canada Water Agency has established a permanent Federal Freshwater Committee to regularly convene these federal departments and agencies, facilitate information exchange, and promote collaboration.

Federal Freshwater Hub

The Canada Water Agency has established an innovative Federal Freshwater Hub. The Hub co-locates various staff from other federal organizations with significant freshwater-related work. These staff rotate into the Hub for approximately a one to two year period and act as direct links with their home organization. They work to strengthen relationships across federal departments/agencies, provide expertise and develop integrated solutions to freshwater challenges.

Working with external partners on fresh water

Initiatives to improve coordination and collaboration with provinces and territories, Indigenous partners, and others on fresh water.

Provinces and Territories  

The Canada Water Agency is actively collaborating with provinces and territories to design customized Canada Water Act Review Engagement Plans, tailored to address their unique interests, needs, and capacities.  More information can be found on the Canada Water Act Review page.

The Canada Water Agency is also working with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME).  Established in 1964, the CCME is the primary intergovernmental forum for collective action on environmental issues of national and international interest. Members include the environment ministers from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. 

Within the CCME, the Water Management Committee focuses on managing and improving water quality and quantity. The Canada Water Agency is the federal member and current co-chair of the Committee.

Indigenous partners

The Canada Water Agency is committed to advancing reconciliation and working with Indigenous peoples to protect fresh water. This includes partnerships and engagement in freshwater stewardship activities, such as the Freshwater Ecosystem Initiatives, the review of the Canada Water Act, and the development of the National Freshwater Data Strategy. For more information, please visit Indigenous collaboration.

Stakeholders

The Canada Water Agency is working closely with stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, community groups, industry and academia, to implement the Government of Canada’s freshwater agenda. 

Among other things, the Agency:

• meets regularly with stakeholders to discuss freshwater issues, learn about their work, and explore opportunities for collaboration.
• organizes information sessions with stakeholders to share the latest developments within the Agency.
• offers funding to stakeholders to advance freshwater initiatives aligned with the Agency’s mandate.

Water One Window

With support from the Federal Freshwater Hub, the Canada Water Agency is developing a Water One Window (WOW). The WOW will be a user-friendly online portal through which Canadians can:

• easily access federal freshwater data, programs, services, reports, and other information via links to the webpages of other departments and agencies;
• engage with the federal government through a single contact point, to track down requested information or federal expertise.