Fraser River overview
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Overview
The Fraser River is the fourth largest river in Canada by volume and has a drainage basin of 220,000 km2. It is home to Canada’s largest port and has been identified as a Canadian Heritage River. Activity across the Fraser basin generates nearly 10% of Canada’s gross domestic product across a wide variety of sectors including forestry, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, communications, and transportation. The basin has a Pacific salmon industry that contributes nearly $1B to Canada’s GDP.
Nearly 640 km2 of the Lower Fraser basin lies across the international border in Washington State, including the Sumas River tributary. The mouth of the Fraser is approximately 6 km north of the U.S. border and contributes approximately 50% of all freshwater inflows to the Canada-US transboundary Salish Sea ecosystem.
The Fraser River Basin
The Fraser River has a drainage basin of 220,000 km2. Nearly 640 km2 of the Lower Fraser basin lies across the international border in Washington State, including the Sumas River tributary. The mouth of the Fraser is approximately 6 km north of the U.S. border and contributes approximately 50% of all freshwater inflows to the Canada-US transboundary Salish Sea ecosystem.
Key issues
Cumulative impacts, mainly associated with development and climate change, pose risks to freshwater quality and ecosystem health across the basin.
Working with others
As a new Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative, the initial focus will be on advancing foundational elements and collaborative efforts that will inform priorities and approaches such as providing investments and support for partner-led actions, addressing priority knowledge gaps, supporting collaborative monitoring efforts, and developing a state of the basin reporting system. A formal call for proposals will occur in the near future to fund partner-led work and activities in the basin.