Ontario Invests Over $1.9 million to Protect and Restore the Great Lakes

44 local projects receive funding through the new Great Lakes Local Action Fund

The Ontario government has selected 44 community-based projects to receive $1.9 million in funding through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, which supports local projects that protect and restore the Great Lakes.

“The health of the Great Lakes is closely connected to our province’s health and prosperity – supplying water to our communities, sustaining traditional activities of Indigenous peoples and providing healthy ecosystems for recreation and tourism,” said David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “This funding allows local organizations and groups to take environmental actions in their own communities – building a better future with clean, green growth.”

The 44 projects are led by community-based organizations, municipalities, conservation authorities and Indigenous communities and organizations across Ontario, from Ottawa to Thunder Bay. Projects were selected following a competitive review process.

Some of the Recipients include:

ALUS Norfolk, who will work with farmers to restore land throughout Long Point Watershed in Norfolk County to reduce agricultural impacts on Lake Erie.

The City of Pickering, in collaboration with 50 community and youth groups, will clean up litter along the shorelines of Lake Ontario and the rivers and streams that flow into it.

Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association, in partnership with Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, will work to restore habitat, improve water quality and clean up the shoreline of Smith Bay Creek, which runs into Lake Huron.

Supporting local actions that protect the Great Lakes is a key commitment in our plan to protect our land, air and water.

Quick Facts

Ontario launched a call for applications for the Great Lakes Local Action Fund in the fall of 2020.

20 per cent of the world’s fresh water is found in the Great Lakes, making it the largest lake system in the world.

95 per cent of the province’s agricultural lands are in the basin of the Great Lakes.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario recently signed the ninth Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health, which sets out specific actions each government will take to protect and restore the Great Lakes.

Ontario invests approximately $14 million per year in actions to protect and restore the Great Lakes, including projects that support commitments in the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health and Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy.