In his April election night victory speech, Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a stark warning: “The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. Think about that. If they succeed, they will destroy our way of life.” 

This recurring election talking point tapped into a central concern preoccupying Canadians. By threatening long-standing water treaties and musing about bulk water exports, United States President Donald Trump has forced Canadians to take a fresh look at water as being imperative to our sovereignty, security, and survival. 

With 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater, Canadians are rightly proud of the beauty and abundance of our lakes and rivers. But in the face of shifting Canada-U.S. relations, as well as the impacts of climate change and pollution, water is taking centre stage.  

Water is foundational to our economy, our food and energy systems, and our national security. We must meet the moment with fresh solutions to emerging water issues. 

That’s why the new $100-million Strategic Water Security Technology Fund that was included in the Liberal Party platforsm is a watershed moment for Canada. This is the first time that the federal government has made water tech innovation a national priority. 

This new fund will unleash Canadian-led research, AI-powered water monitoring, and dynamic startup business solutions as one of the main ways we protect our freshwater, and prepare for global water stress. 

As a leading not-for-profit aimed at driving entrepreneurial solutions to Canada’s water crisis, AquaAction has been advocating for two years for this kind of bold innovative thinking. And we are ready to help mobilize the water innovation ecosystem around it to achieve maximum impact. This is about more than technology. It’s about defending Canada’s sovereignty, boosting our economy, and building water diplomacy with the U.S. 

The need for innovative solutions to water problems could not be greater.  

Repeated droughts in the Prairies are forcing difficult decisions about how to allocate water for farmers and other industries. Canada’s advantage as a hydroelectricity superpower is increasingly vulnerable to shifting snowpacks and rainfall patterns. 

There is no food or energy security without water security. Canada must move urgently to support technologies and policies that safeguard our water resources. Done right, Canada will grow our reputation beyond being hewers of wood and drawers of water, or being focused on raw resource exports—we’ll export innovative water technologies. 

Canada’s blue economy—the sustainable use of freshwater resources—is already generating jobs and innovation. But we’re only beginning to tap its full potential. At AquaAction, we see this enormous potential every day.  

In Jasper National Park, we supported RHST Technologies to restore water quality after the devastating wildfires. Their technology treats stormwater runoff contaminated with ash and heavy metals, a growing issue across fire-prone regions. 

In Quebec, we are working with Biocene, a startup that can remove toxic algae from the Lachine Canal and convert it into clean bioenergy.

In the Prairies, AquaAction is working with Indigenous and government groups to create a first-of-its-kind tool that can best allocate scarce water resources in real time to respond to drought. 

These solutions exist. What they need is scale, and the political will to back them. 

Last year, the federal government took a major step towards addressing the co-ordination of Canada’s water issues with the creation of the Canada Water Agency (CWA). 

Headquartered in Winnipeg, the CWA is well-positioned to catalyze Canada’s water innovation economy, by aligning new data and science strategies with this promised water tech fund.  

To secure this country’s national water and economic security, we need coherent federal-provincial partnership and barrier-free markets. This water tech security fund should incentivize provincial investments while boosting water-related intellectual property development, domestic commercialization, internal market access, and export promotion.   

Canada has the talent, the tech, and the trust to lead the world in freshwater protection.  

Water is not infinite. It is not guaranteed. But if we protect it, it can be a source of strength, security, and shared prosperity for generations to come. 

Soula Chronopoulos is the president of AquaAction, a not-for-profit dedicated to building a water-secure future by fostering a new generation of entrepreneurs to transform ideas to market-ready solutions to pressing water issues. Chronopoulos is a member of the Forum for Leadership on Water and the Canadian Coalition for Healthy Waters. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs by Profit Magazine, and currently lectures at the McGill Desautels School of Business on entrepreneurship and sustainability in retail.

The Hill Times