Global Water Futures

Laurier is one of four Canadian university partners leading Global Water Futures (GWF), the largest and most-cited freshwater research program in the world. The program aims to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems and the water environment. It also aims to position Canada as a global leader in water science for cold regions and to address the strategic needs of the Canadian economy in adapting to change and managing risks of uncertain water futures and extreme events.

GWF began in 2016 with $77.8 million in funding from the highly competitive Canada First Research Excellence Fund. It has since attracted a total funding package of $143.67 million through linked contributions from the University of Saskatchewan ($17.5 million), University of Waterloo ($15 million), McMaster University ($12.14 million), Wilfrid Laurier University ($10.58 million), and various industry partners. In addition, GWF partners include hundreds of researchers at dozens of higher educational institutions, multiple levels of government, international organizations, civil society organizations and Indigenous communities and governments.

Laurier leads three major projects as part of GWF: Northern Water Futures, the Sub-Arctic Metal Mobility Study and Global Water Citizenship.

Laurier researchers also co-lead multiple major projects as part of GWF: 

• Hydrology-ecology feedbacks in the Arctic: Narrowing the gap between theory and models. Principal Investigators: Martyn Clark (University of Saskatchewan) & Jennifer Baltzer (Wilfrid Laurier University) Co-Investigators: Sean Carey (McMaster University), Steve Cumming (Universitè Laval), Philip Marsh (Wilfrid Laurier University), Oliver Sonnentag (Universitè de Montrèal).
• FORecasting tools and Mitigation options for diverse BLOOM-affected lakes (FORMBLOOM). The FORMBLOOM project, led by Dr. Helen Baulch and Dr. Jason Venkiteswaran, links researchers across Canada to produce a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding bloom formation and developing tools to mitigate the effects of harmful algal blooms. As part of the Global Water Futures program, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK), the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON), and Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, ON) are united with collaborative efforts from scientists at IISD Experimenal Lakes Area and through the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network.

Laurier also co-leads two unique GWF projects with Indigenous communities:

• Matawa Water Futures: Developing an Indigenous-Informed Framework for Watershed Monitoring and Stewardship, co-led by Terry Mitchell, a professor in Laurier’s School of International Policy and Governance, and Sarah Cockerton, manager of environmental programs for Four Rivers of Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM), a tribal council with nine member Ojibway and Cree First Nations in northern Ontario.
• Water Knowledge Camps: Building Capacity for Cross-Cultural Water Knowledge, Research, and Environmental Monitoring, is co-led by Associate Professor Jennifer Baltzer, Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change and a member of Laurier’s Department of Biology, and Leon Andrew, a Shúhtaot'ı̨nę elder with the Tulı́t’a Dene Band and special advisor with Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı – the Sahtú Renewable Resources Board, in the Sahtú Region of the Northwest Territories.

Laurier’s Core GWF Team

Through GWF, Laurier has secured funding for personnel dedicated to advancing our strategic priorities in cold regions and water science. The core Laurier team includes five technical staff who will work on field sites throughout the Northwest Territories (NWT) and support analytical and instrument libraries, a data management technician, and a knowledge mobilization research specialist.

Some members of the core Laurier team are based out of the year-round Yellowknife Office. Find out more about the GWF staff who work out of our Yellowknife Office.