Posted: February 13, 2025

2025: A big election year for the river

This blog offers a guide to voters on the issues that impact the Ottawa River they can ask their candidates about, drawing from Ottawa Riverkeeper’s 2024 Watershed Report Card.

2025 is a year of elections across the Ottawa River watershed, from the Ontario provincial election currently underway to the anticipated federal election and Quebec’s upcoming municipal elections. Voters have a unique opportunity to focus on the health of our river and its ecosystems by asking candidates for their positions on important issues facing the river. 

What can you do as a voter? 

As a voter, you can play a significant role in protecting the Ottawa River watershed. We’ve developed a list of questions you can ask your candidates, no matter their level of government, that will inspire them to make decisions in the best interest of the river.

Here are some questions to ask candidates:

• Will you respect Indigenous water rights and support nation-to-nation watershed governance?
• Will you implement a watershed-based approach, ensuring inter-jurisdictional cooperation across different levels of government and with non-governmental stakeholders?
• What investments will you commit to in nature-based solutions to improve freshwater ecosystem health and help adapt to climate change?
• How will you monitor and regulate contaminants like microplastics, PFAS, and nuclear waste to keep our rivers safe?
• How do you plan to close data gaps and engage the public in environmental protection, and will you commit to funding community-based monitoring initiatives?

Read on to find out why we chose these questions, and how they reflect the findings in our Watershed Report Card. 

What is the river telling us?

There have been notable improvements in the watershed’s health over the years. One example is the significant reduction of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in the Ottawa area. This progress is largely attributed to the City of Ottawa’s Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel, which has improved water quality in the region’s most populated areas. Additionally, the watershed remains predominantly forested, a positive sign as forested areas provide critical insulation for freshwater ecosystems, protecting them from environmental threats. These improvements are noteworthy and present opportunities to build upon. 

Unfortunately, other trends give grave cause for concern. Mercury levels in the watershed have risen significantly, surpassing those found in more industrial regions like Lake Ontario. This unexpected trend suggests the need for further investigation into the sources and impacts of mercury in the Ottawa River. Fish populations, despite the watershed’s rich biodiversity, are under severe threat due to alterations in the watershed’s physical characteristics. Agricultural and urban runoff is contributing to nutrient overload in the river, leading to problematic algal blooms that disrupt aquatic ecosystems.

The watershed faces serious challenges, particularly from climate change and other human activity. Changing flow patterns, such as earlier spring thaws and prolonged low flows in late summer, are disrupting habitats, increasing water temperatures, and elevating the risk of flooding. Additionally, emerging contaminants like microplastics, PFAS (“forever chemicals”), road salt, and radioactive waste from facilities like Chalk River are introducing new, often poorly understood threats to the watershed’s health.

What is best for the river?

The concerning trends outlined in our research are being driven by human activity in the watershed, many of which are tied directly to climate change or exacerbated by it. Mitigating these trends and building resilience in the Ottawa River watershed will require focused action across several key areas.

First and foremost, respecting Indigenous water rights is essential. Indigenous Nations are the traditional and ongoing caretakers of these lands and waters. Decision-makers must advance government-to-government, nation-to-nation relationships by developing pathways for co-governance of watersheds with Indigenous Nations. For the Ottawa River watershed, which lies on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinābeg Algonquin peoples, non-Indigenous decision-makers must consult with and take meaningful action to respect the full rights held by Algonquin Nations.

Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is critical for addressing multiple challenges at once. Forests, wetlands, and riparian buffers help mitigate the impacts of climate change by buffering against flooding and drought, stabilizing flow patterns, and providing essential habitats for endangered species. Conservation efforts should prioritize these natural spaces while promoting sustainable land use practices to reduce nutrient runoff from agriculture and urban areas, limit Combined Sewer Overflows, and maintain water quality.

Infrastructure improvements and habitat restoration play a key role in protecting endangered species. Installing eel ladders and enhancing fish passage around dams can support the recovery of vulnerable species like the American eel and lake sturgeon. These efforts should be part of a broader strategy involving collaborative partnerships between government agencies, Indigenous communities, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders.

Regulating contaminants is another vital step in safeguarding watershed health. Expanding our understanding of pollutants like microplastics, PFAS, road salt, and radioactive waste, and implementing stronger monitoring and regulatory actions, will help mitigate their harmful effects. Public education campaigns can also raise awareness about these threats and encourage community involvement in pollution prevention.

Finally, funding robust data collection and monitoring is imperative. The Ottawa River watershed is poorly understood compared to other Canadian watersheds. Increased investment in research and community-based monitoring is necessary to fill data gaps, track emerging trends such as rising mercury levels, and ensure timely responses to new environmental threats.

Conclusion

The Ottawa River is more than just a body of water, it is a lifeline for over 2 million people and countless species. Its watershed contains more than 300 municipalities, and the river acts as the border between the two most populous provinces in the country, flowing through Canada nation’s capital and directly past the federal parliament buildings. 

As we head to the polls in 2025, let’s ensure that protecting this vital watershed is a priority for all candidates at all levels of government. Your vote can make waves for a healthier, more sustainable future for the Ottawa River.

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