Home • Mackenzie River Basin Board

A pelican at Pelican Rapids, Slave River, Ft. Smith, NWT
Forested view of the Mackenzie River Delta, NWT
The Mackenzie River reflecting a blue sky, NWT
Overlooking Peace River from nearby hills, northeastern BC
A peach-tinted sky above Peace River, northern AB
Boulders at Slave River, Mountain Portage Rapids, NWT
Athabasca River against Miette range, Jasper National Park, AB
Liard River along the Athabasca Highway, BC
Autumn leaves along Liard River, northern BC
Mountains against Athabasca River, Jasper National Park, AB
Trees lining Pelican Rapids, Slave River, Ft. Smith, NWT
Turquoise waters at Athabasca River, Jasper National Park, AB
Mountain against Liard River along the Alaska Highway, BC

Welcome

The Mackenzie River Basin Board was created in 1997 by the Transboundary Waters Master Agreement between the Government of Canada, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories. The purpose of this website is to help ensure that the public is informed and involved in issues concerning the Mackenzie River Basin.

The Board’s Vision for the Mackenzie River Basin

A healthy and diverse aquatic ecosystem for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Board’s Guiding Principles

The Agreement commits the parties to the following principles in carrying out their responsibilities in the Basin.

Manage the water resources in a manner consistent with the maintenance of the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystem.
Manage the use of the water resources in a sustainable manner for present and future generations.
Allow each Party to the Agreement to use or manage the use of water resources within its jurisdiction provided such use does not unreasonably harm the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystem in any other jurisdiction.
Provide for early and effective consultation, notification and sharing of information on developments and activities that might affect the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystem in another jurisdiction.
Resolve issues in a cooperative and harmonious manner.

What’s New

BWMA Report Added: Liard River Basin Elders Circle WWH ReportAugust 22, 2024

To advance transboundary water collaboration in the Liard Basin and meet commitments under the Mackenzie River Basin transboundary agreements, the two Bilateral Management Committees (BMCs) for the Liard basin (B.C.-Yukon, and B.C.-NWT) are working multilaterally to develop a Learning Plan for the basin.

As a first step, the BMCs organized an Elders Circle in May 2023 to discuss water knowledge and guide the development of the Learning Plan, and a What We Heard Report was developed following the Elders’ Circle. Click here to read through the report.
BWMA Reports ExpansionJuly 18, 2024

Our website’s Bilateral Water Management Agreements section has now begun hosting a selection of report files related to ongoing BWMAs. They showcase how some Canadian provinces and territories have been working together to manage their shared water resources.

Most pages on that part of the website were updated as part of this content expansion (aside from the BWMA Frequently Asked Questions page). New reports will be added as we receive approval to include them. You may also see future What’s New posts made about groundbreaking BWMA reports as they become available to read!

2021 SOAER

Click here to access the web-based State of the Aquatic Ecosystem Report.

The Mackenzie River Basin Board (MRBB) is pleased to share the 2021 State of the Aquatic Ecosystem Report (SOAER). The 2021 SOAER is an online web-based report that braids publicly available science and Indigenous Knowledges for four aquatic indicators. Please send any questions or feedback to ec.cbm-mrbb.ec@ec.gc.ca