May 13, 2026 Kingston, Ontario Parks Canada
Heritage rivers reflect the deep connections between waterways, landscapes, wildlife, and the people who have lived, travelled, and thrived along them for generations.
Today, the Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, and the Honourable Todd McCarthy, Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, announced the nomination of the Upper St. Lawrence River in Ontario to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.
The nominated section stretches 230 kilometres from Kingston, at the east end of Lake Ontario, to the Ontario-Quebec border, highlighting the river's significance as an important cultural and natural corridor. The Kaniatarowanenneh, as it is known to the Haudenosaunee peoples, is a mother river of Canada. The stories of the Indigenous Peoples who lived along the river are told in the oral traditions of the Haudenosaunee people. The river also holds a unique and special place in the development of modern Canada, serving as a main route for exploration, transportation, trade, commerce, and cross-cultural contact between Indigenous Peoples and European settlers.
The nomination recognizes the river's outstanding cultural heritage, including its role in Indigenous history, early European exploration, settlement, trade, and defence as well as its recreational value and ecological richness. The river remains central to the identity and economy of many communities along its banks.
The nomination of the Upper St. Lawrence River in Ontario is the result of collaboration between the Thousand Islands Alliance of River Advocates (TIARA), local communities, Indigenous partners, the Government of Ontario, and Parks Canada. If designated, it would join an established network of Canadian Heritage Rivers that celebrates the country's diverse history and connections to freshwater heritage.
