Climate Change

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.

We recently released a detailed report on the changing flow patterns we’ve uncovered in the Ottawa River watershed. From earlier spring freshets to low summer water levels, these changes are indicative of how climate change will influence watershed health in the coming years.

Ottawa Riverkeeper has released a new, comprehensive Watershed Report Card for the Ottawa River. The results tell a story of a watershed under threat from recent human activity. Development, land use, and climate change are reshaping Canada’s capital river system.

In the southern portion of the watershed, many have noticed a remarkably short period of ice cover on the river this year. This can have consequences not only for our winter activities but also for wildlife and broader watershed health.

This fall, Ottawa Riverkeeper hosted a series of workshops that invited Indigenous youth to learn about traditional canoe-building from Pinock Smith, an Algonquin craftsperson, as part of our Canoeing Together project.