Governance

Water crosses boundaries and flows between many different nations and regions throughout the world. For this reason, jurisdictions pursue transboundary water management to address conflicting water interests. In Canada, we and the United States of America signed the Boundary Waters Treaty in 1909 which established the International Joint Commission to manage waters crossing the borders of the two nations.   Within Canada, the 1969 Master Agreement on Apportionment between Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Canada administers the sharing of waters shared by the three provinces.   There is also the 1997 Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement which administers the sharing of the Mackenzie River Basin between the five relevant provinces and territories. Transboundary agreements are typically based on calculations of natural flow to accommodate variability and are focussed on issues of mutual concern to the participating jurisdictions. For example, industrial pollution, infrastructure projects with downstream impacts, and extreme flood or drought events encourage jurisdictions (national or sub-national) to communicate with one another to share information and manage water quality and quantity expectations. This communication ensures integrated water management that promotes healthy watersheds and reduces the risks of disputes escalating unmanageably. Learn more about Transboundary Water Agreements.