About the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund

The Government of Canada established the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund (GLSF) to help restore water quality and ecosystem health in Canadian Areas of Concern (AOCs). GLSF projects are funded and implemented in partnership with other agencies, industry and local community stakeholders to advance the Remedial Action Plans that have been established in all of Canada's remaining AOCs.

Through the GLSF, Environment and Climate Change Canada provides technical and financial support (up to one third of the total cost) to projects that focus on implementing remedial actions in three priority areas:

  • fish and wildlife habitat rehabilitation and stewardship;
  • contaminated sediment assessment and remediation; and
  • innovative approaches to improving municipal wastewater effluent quality.

Emphasis is placed on meeting the goals that are set under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, 2014 and commitments under the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States.

If you have an idea for a restoration project in an AOC or would like more information about the GLSF, please visit Great Lakes Areas of Concern or contact the GLSF team at ec.glsf.ec@canada.ca.

Areas of Concern: These are hotspots where beneficial uses of the aquatic ecosystem are impaired. Of the 36 remaining Great Lakes Areas of Concern, 9 are in Canada and another 5 are shared with the United States.

Remedial Action Plans: Developed for each Area of Concern, these plans identify the challenges and priority actions needed to address them. Undertaking environmental restoration requires a large amount of scientific and technical expertise, local knowledge, and hard work. The governments of Canada and Ontario work together with local governments, Indigenous communities, conservation authorities, industry, local citizens and other partners to develop and implement the plans. 

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