ARTICLE · 12 JUNE 2026

Pikangikum First Nation’s Water Crisis: An Emergency Decades In The Making

Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP

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For decades, over 4,000 residents of Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario have been denied reliable access to clean drinking water, with only 109 of 500 homes having working taps.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector

Cassandra De Marco

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Access to water is a right most Canadians do not think twice about. Unfortunately, that cannot be said about the citizens of Pikangikum First Nation, a remote Ojibwe community in northwestern Ontario.

A Community Without Safe Water

For decades, over 4000 people in Pikangikum First Nation have been continuously denied reliable access to clean drinking water, functional sewage infrastructure, and adequate fire safety measures with only 4 of 12 fire hydrants functional. Residents of this First Nation are subjected to only a few pails of water a day, which needs to be boiled before drinking. Out of the 500 homes in Pikangikum, only 109 have a working tap. All other residents must travel to one of six watering points in the community to collect water buckets for drinking or cooking.

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