This theme represents the limit of the Quebec territory of the Agreement on Sustainable Water Resources of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. It was generated from the grouping of watersheds at a cartographic scale of 1:20,000. For more information: http://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/eau/grandslacs/2005/index.htm**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

Water quality and ecosystem health data used to conduct a cumulative effects assessment of Canadian Great Lakes nearshore waters in support of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement are included in this dataset. The data was collected by various government and non-government agencies and organizations and integrated into this dataset to allow the assessment to be conducted. By conducting a regular, systematic assessment of cumulative effects in the nearshore waters of the Great Lakes Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is able to identify areas of high quality and areas under stress. Knowledge of ecological thresholds, other Great Lakes assessments, stressor information, indicators and local and traditional ecological knowledge will be used to aid in: 1) the identification and mapping of high quality nearshore areas and areas that are or may become subject to high stress and; 2) the determination of factors and cumulative effects that are causing stress or threats. Cumulative effects impacting the nearshore and future threats to areas of high ecological value will be better understood and the knowledge shared will assist in priority setting for science and management at a meaningful and practical spatial scale within each Great Lake and connecting channel.

This data is intended to identify Canadian fresh waters which require additional measures (e.g., ballast water exchange and treatment) prior to release, as described in https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/list-canada-s-designated-alternate-ballast-water-exchange-area-fresh-waters-tp-13617e-2021. The data is not intended for navigation purposes.According to Canada’s Ballast Water Regulations, vessels which are managing ballast water to meet the ballast water performance standard cannot release ballast water into fresh waters unless that ballast water was first exchanged in accordance with the ballast water exchange standard. For the purpose of this requirement, Canadian fresh waters are the following:- the waters at the Port of Kitimat and waters in or upstream of the Kitimat Arm, east of a line between Hilton Point and Steel Point;- the waters at the Port of Stewart and waters in or upstream of the Portland Canal, north of a line between Portland Point and Ramsden Point;- the waters of all Fraser River ports that are: -- east of Tilbury Island in the main arm of the Fraser River including Annacis Island and New Westminster docking areas; and -- east of the eastern tip of Mitchell Island in the north arm of Fraser River;- the waters of the Saguenay River ports and waters upstream of L’Anse-Creuse;- the waters of all St. Lawrence River ports and waters west of the east point of Ile d’Orléans including the port of Quebec City;- all Canadian waters of the Great Lakes Basin; and- the waters of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and waters of Lake Melville west of Rabbit Island.Legal Constraints: Users should be aware that the polygons depicting areas requiring additional measures to manage ballast water are intended for illustration only and should not be used for navigational or legal purposes.

The Aquatic Invasive Species Surveillance Database is a compilation of fish community and habitat data from DFO’s Aquatic Invasive Species and Invasive Carp Program early detection surveillance efforts in Canadian waters of the Great Lakes basin. Data includes: sampling site location, date, fish species and counts, and associated habitat information. Annual project-specific details including purpose/objectives and study methodology are often reported in the DFO Canadian manuscript report of fisheries and aquatic sciences series.

Province-wide spatial view showing licensed water sources (streams and lakes), under the Water Act, (current and historical), not captured (displayed) on TRIM base mapping (or Freshwater Atlas base mapping).

The Great Lakes Migrant Waterfowl Surveys provide periodic data on waterfowl abundance, spatial and temporal distributions, and use along the shorelines of major water bodies and river systems in Ontario during mostly during spring and fall, and to a lesser extent during summer and winter, seasons. The primary survey area covers the shoreline and nearshore (~1km) waters of the Lower Great Lakes region of Ontario, specifically including the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River, Lake Erie, Detroit River and Lake St. Clair and associated major marshes and embayments. Aerial surveys, typically flown several times within spring (March –May: 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975 –1979, 1981, 1982, 1984 –1988, 1991 –1996, 1998 –2003 & 2009 –2011) and fall (September –December: 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974 –2003 & 2009 –2011) survey periods, have been conducted periodically on a relatively regular basis (approx. 5-10 years) along the Lower Great Lakes shorelines between 1968 and 2011. Smaller-scale surveys also have been conducted periodically during summer (June –August: 1968 –1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1999 & 2002) in this region. This survey often has been conducted in conjunction with the Midwinter Survey, so its data (up to 2004) also are included in the CWS Migrant Waterfowl Surveys database (Year ≥2004 & Month = January & February).Data from several aerial surveys conducted periodically during the non-breeding period outside the Lower Great Lakes region also are included in this database. Spring and fall surveys have been conducted along the shorelines and nearshore waters of the Upper Great Lakes region of Ontario, specifically at St. Clair River (Fall 2012 & 2013), Lake Huron (Fall 1973, 1996; Spring 1974) / Georgian Bay (Fall 1973, 1996, 2012 & 2013) & Lake Superior (Fall 2000). Aerial surveys also have been conducted inland in southeastern Ontario along the Rideau River (Fall 1998 & Spring 1999).

The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program (GLCWMP) involves the monitoring of Great Lakes coastal wetland biota and habitat to provide information on coastal wetland condition for use in conservation and management decision-making using fish, birds, anurans, vegetation, aquatic macroinvertebrates and water quality. The main outputs from this program are a thorough assessment of the condition of over 1000 Great Lakes coastal wetlands (that are larger than four hectares in size and have a surface water connection to the lake) and the implementation of a standardized long-term monitoring program for coastal wetlands across the Great Lakes basin. This program is funded under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment and Climate Change Canada has been involved in the program since it began in 2011, and over that time has conducted fish, vegetation, aquatic macroinvertebrates and water quality surveys at 80 coastal wetland sites (as of 2025) primarily on the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario. Program data are available by request at: www.greatlakeswetlands.org. The data included here are a list of the 80 sites surveyed by CWS, spatial coordinates for each site, and the years that sites were surveyed.

All lake polygons for the province

INW - Inland water resources (inlandWaters)Inland water features, drainage systems, and their characteristics. For example, resources describing rivers and glaciers, salt lakes, water use plans, dams, currents, floods, water quality, and hydrographic charts

The locations of coastal ferry routes in British Columbia. This includes ferries in coastal waters like BC Ferries, barges, water taxis, etc. but does not include freshwater ferries on inland rivers or lakes.