Contrary to general international perception, Canada does not have an unlimited supply of freshwater. However, because Canada has a small population, it does have a generous water allocation on a per capita basis. Nor is Canada immune from water quality problems:its cold continental climate, urbanization and industrial activities all contribute to water quality concerns and deterioration. Generally, the authority to manage water in Canada is held by the country's provincial governments. The Great Lakes basin is the world's largest freshwater ecosystem and is located in Canada's industrial heartland. Water issues, starting with phosphorus in the 1960's, created international headlines. In the 1970's toxics became the predominant issue and this led to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement which established the ecosystem approach to water quality management. This approach is now the standard approach to water quality management and has been successfully applied to a number of other lake and river ecosystems in Canada. While there have been improvements in the water quality of the Great Lakes much remains to be done on toxic elimination and the large contaminant stores in the sediments. Atmospheric deposition has become a significant source of chemicals from outside the basin The Canadian prairies, the agricultural heartland of Canada, is one major ecozone that has not been selected to have current and potential water quality problems examined by a federal government program. Both the quantity and quality of water in this region are potentially significant factors limiting economic diversification and sustainable development in this vast and ecologically disturbed region.