Majority of Canadians consider water to be Canada’s most important natural resource

TORONTO, ONTARIO March 17, 2009 — The majority of Canadians (53 per cent) rank freshwater as the country’s most important natural resource; ahead of forests (20 per cent), agriculture/farmland (14 per cent), oil (eight per cent) and fisheries (two per cent), according to the 2009 Canadian Water Attitudes Study.

More than eight in 10 think Canada will have a freshwater shortage problem if we do not pay attention to conservation. But despite this appreciation of the value of freshwater, Canadians continue to waste it at alarming rates, using five times more water per day than they think they do.

This level of consumption must change, said leading water expert Bob Sandford, following release of the 2009 Canadian Water Attitudes Study, a national opinion survey on Canadians' awareness, perceptions and habits related to freshwater. The survey, in its second year, was commissioned by Unilever and RBC, and is endorsed by the Canadian Partnership Initiative of the United Nations Water for Life Decade.

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Posted May 2009