Protecting Canada’s most strategic asset

An Invitation to Join Funders Collaborating on Water Security

Rive érodée, barrage évacuant de l'eau et drones agricoles au-dessus d'un champ, symboles de la sécurité de l'eau.

Key Takeaways

Our Mandate: A national coordination platform for funders committed to advancing water security.
Our Areas of Focus: Capital mobilization, strategic action, public awareness, and shared learning.
The National Imperative: Water is a foundational determinant of Canada’s health, economic prosperity, and national security.
The Opportunity Before Us: A strategic window is opening with the development of the National Water Security Strategy.
Our Collective Ambition: To build a more coordinated, engaged, and influential Canadian water security ecosystem.

About the initiative

The Canada Water Security Funders Group is a non-partisan, pan-Canadian collaboration of funders established in 2025. The de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation and The Metcalf Foundation partnered to establish the Group and continue to coordinate its activities. The Group brings together philanthropic foundations, community funders, and other funding institutions across diverse sectors to align efforts, mobilize resources, and strengthen collective impact.

Logos de la Fondation de Gaspé Beaubien et de la Metcalf Foundation, unis par un signe « + » symbolisant leur partenariat.

The 15 actively participating members of the Funders Group collectively steward over $2.4 billion in assets. They have helped launch and scale transformative freshwater initiatives across Canada, including the BC Watershed Security Fund, AquaAction, DataStream, Indigenous-led stewardship and fisheries programs, watershed restoration efforts, freshwater monitoring networks, and innovative solutions that strengthen climate resilience and water security.

Logos du Watershed Security Fund, d'AquaAction et de DataStream.

The Funders Group continues to explore ways to work in partnership with Indigenous peoples and other water leaders, and welcomes inquiries from philanthropic, private-sector, and community partners interested in advancing water security across Canada.

Water Security is National Security – Canada’s Prosperity Depends on It

Canada’s freshwater systems are under growing pressure from climate change, industrial demand, aging infrastructure, pollution, and geopolitical uncertainty — creating rising risks to our economic resilience, community wellbeing, ecosystems, and national sovereignty.

Yet Canada also holds a generational opportunity: to act early, invest wisely, and build a coordinated national response that protects one of our most strategic assets.

The Canada Water Security Funders Group is a national collaboration bringing together funding partners to align efforts, mobilize additional capital, and accelerate solutions that strengthen Canada’s long-term water security.

This is not a single-issue environmental initiative — it is a cross-sector effort grounded in the belief that water underpins Canada’s prosperity, stability, and future competitiveness.

The Invitation

Many funders are already supporting important water initiatives — yet fragmentation limits collective impact.

What is missing is connective tissue.

The Funders Group provides a trusted national platform to coordinate, learn, and act — while respecting each organization’s autonomy and priorities.

Participation is intentionally flexible, with no pay-to-play requirement; members contribute in ways aligned with their capacity and strategic interests.

We invite your foundation to help shape the next chapter of Canada’s water future by joining the Canada Water Security Funders Group.

Salle de serveurs, réservoir d'eau souterrain éclairé et système d'irrigation pivot dans un champ.

The Ask

Funders Group members will participate in regular meetings to shape shared priorities, contribute to outreach within their networks, and engage in collaborative efforts where aligned with their interests and capacity. Together, the Funders Group initially intends to create impact through the following strategies:

Aligning & Mobilizing Capital | Coordinate funding approaches and explore innovative financing models to increase impact and unlock greater investment in water security.
Strategic Action & Policy Influence | Engage collectively with governments and institutions to help shape policy, priorities, and implementation pathways.
Narrative & Public Awareness | Advance water security as a national priority through shared messaging, storytelling, and public engagement.
Learning & Field Building | Foster peer learning, knowledge exchange, and shared insight on effective practices across the funding community.

Why this Matters – to every Canadian

Water risk is no longer isolated. It is systemic. Every Foundation working to advance thriving communities, resilient economies, innovation, health, food systems, or infrastructure is already working downstream of water, whether explicity or not.

And, when water systems fail, ripple effects follow:

Communities face growing health risks
Indigenous rights, culture and community well-being are undermined
Housing and infrastructure pressures intensify
Fisheries, food production are threatened
Insurance and household costs rise
Energy systems become more vulnerable
Economic stability and growth are constrained, and
Canada’s national security – including sovereignty, resource stability and emergency resilience – is increasingly at risk

Bateau de pêche en mer, conduites d'infrastructure empilées et productrice cueillant des légumes en serre.

Why now

Canada is entering a rare policy window.

With a National Water Security Strategy underway and the Canada Water Agency as a key actor, philanthropy has a unique opportunity to shape Canada’s national water agenda before it solidifies.

What success looks like

Together, the Funders Group aims to move Canada from fragmented water efforts to a coordinated national water security ecosystem. We will:

Elevate water security as a national priority
Bridge local watershed realities with a national strategy
Mobilize diverse funders across sectors and regions
Unlock capital at a scale that matches the magnitude of the challenge
Enable measurable, durable outcomes for people, ecosystems, and the economy

The Canada Water Security Funders Group is a multi-year collaboration designed to evolve as learning deepens and opportunities emerge.

Connect with us to learn more…

Rangée de cultures irriguées, robinet de cuisine ouvert et rivière vive en forêt montagneuse.

Interested in exploring how to get involved

Marie-Paule Jeansonne
Executive Director, de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation
mp@fondationdegaspebeaubien.org

PROTECTING CANADA’S MOST STRATEGIC ASSET
An Invitation to collaborate ON WATER SECURITY