Image: Map of Canada with scraps of paper identifying names of waterbodies pinned onto it. The writing on the map reads, “Pin your favourite lake, river, or shoreline and tell us a story…”.
Waterways have long been central to Canadian history, recreation and livelihoods. Canada’s extensive network of waterways including tens of thousands of ponds, rivers, lakes, and canals continue to shape the wellbeing of Canadian residents, as they have done for centuries.
At the Canadian Heritage Rivers System’s Annual General Meeting, CHRS participants and CPC Board members, designates and Leadership Residency participants participated in an exercise to share their favourite waterway by marking it on a large map of Canada and explaining why it was special to them. The result was a great diversity of rivers and lakes identified across the country. While many of the waterbodies identified are not part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, the exercise highlighted how important water is to the lives of people living in Canada.
We heard stories about family gatherings with summer nights spent at cabins swimming and sharing adventures that will be cherished for generations. Others shared about backcountry adventures including a trip of a lifetime paddling from Kingston to Ottawa, a 200-kilometre trip spanning over eight days that involved sleeping at a lock station, transiting lakes with strong winds and visiting historic towns.
Here are some highlights about the waterways identified and the stories that were shared:
Lake Superior, Ontario -The largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area holds 10 per cent of the world’s fresh surface water. This is an important shipping route, and at its bottom lies over 350 recorded shipwrecks with one of the most famous being SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
One AGM participant shared an adventure of paddling around the Slate Islands 13 kilometres offshore of Terrace Bay, Ontario, where, if lucky, you might spot a woodland caribou, one of the last individuals surviving within the Lake Superior coastal herd.
21 Shocking Facts About Lake Superior
Pingualuit Lake, Quebec – This lake was formed by a meteorite impact about 1.4 million years ago. Due to its formation this lake has no inlets or outlets and is only fed by rain or snow, making its water some of the purest in Canada. Hiking around this lake was described as magical.
The Coolest Facts about Pingualuit National Park – Canada Untamed
Whitewater Lake, Ontario - A lake studded with islands, world class trophy Northern Pike fishing and home to Wendell Beckwith’s cabin. Wendell Beckwith was an eccentric inventor, expert woodworker and self-taught scientist who lived on Best Island from 1961 -1980. His inventions included a homemade telescope and a “lunar gun” for predicting lunar cycles and eclipses. One of our participants recalls a memorable canoe trip to visit Beckwith’s cabin and seeing firsthand the buildings and learning about this inventor.
Wendell Beckwith Documentary Film Project - Thunder Bay Museum
Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia – Designated as Fragile by the British Columbia government in 1972 due to environmental sensitivity, this waterbody is also known as Canada’s warmest freshwater lake. One of the participants shared with us the joy and memories developed from family trips to the lake taken over many summers.
About Osoyoos Lake - Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society
This exercise was a fun way to allow people to share their stories and to demonstrate that there are many special bodies of water that are enjoyed by Canadians across the country. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System provides us with one way to recognize and celebrate some of those that are particularly unique and important to our national heritage.