Canadian Heritage Rivers

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Abstract

This map shows both designated and nominated Heritage Rivers. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System protects the best examples of Canada’s river heritage, giving the rivers national recognition and encouraging the public to enjoy and appreciate them. The goal is to establish a system that reflects the diversity of Canada’s rivers and to ensure that they continue to flow for future generations.

Canada is a land of rivers and lakes. Rivers have played an important role in Canadian history and are still essential today. They allowed early explorers to discover the country, they serve as a source of fresh water and some are now diverted to produce hydroelectricity. Certain outstanding rivers are worth protecting and are being designated as Heritage Rivers.

The Canadian Heritage Rivers System was established in 1984 to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada’s river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them. It is a cooperative program of the governments of Canada, all ten provinces and the three territories. The goal is to establish a system that reflects the diversity of Canada’s river environments and to commemorate the role of rivers in the country’s history and society. The vision is to ensure that these rivers flow into the future, with their heritage features protected for generations to come.

As of 2006, there are 39 Heritage Rivers across Canada, and more are being added to the system each year. These rivers have been chosen because of their natural, human heritage and recreational values. They range from the Arctic barrens to southern Ontario’s rich farmlands, from Newfoundland’s rocky hills to the mountains and glaciers of the Yukon.

For example, the Boundary Waters – Voyageur Waterway offers thousands of kilometres of interconnected canoe routes that were once used by the Aboriginal peoples and Voyageurs. The region attracts a million travellers every year seeking the lakes and rivers’ natural beauty and rich history. The waterway is still largely in the same state that it was centuries ago.

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Boundary Waters - Voyageur Waterways

Web links to the Canadian Heritage River System provide a fact sheet on each river, which includes a geographic description and recreational and tourist information.

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French River, Ontario

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Thelon River