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Aquatic Invasive Species
Partnership Program
Manitoba is home to an abundance of freshwater lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Supporting and sustaining the health of these waterbodies is essential for maintaining aquatic biodiversity, healthy fisheries, and ecological integrity. These waterbodies are also at the heart of many communities providing a broad suite of recreational opportunities to the public. However, aquatic invasive species (AIS) can pose a risk to the overall health of Manitoba's waterbodies, and thus, prevention is critical.
Increasing prevention capacity and reducing the risk of spreading AIS is not a task that can be undertaken by government alone. Through collaboration, Manitoba will support communities, municipalities, Indigenous governments, and non-government organizations in preventing the introduction of AIS into local areas of social, economic and/or ecological importance. The goal of the Partnership Program is to partner with interest and Rights-based holders to facilitate and build local, community-driven programs to prevent AIS introductions or mitigate AIS threats to Manitoba's Crown waters.
Recognizing the importance of maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, and of the partners that use them, the Manitoba government is implementing the Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund, with the intention to build and strengthen AIS prevention through collaborative partnerships. The fund will provide support and resources to applicants based on a variety of prevention streams. To learn more about the Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund, click the tab below.
Additional resources are available below.
The Manitoba government recognizes the negative impact that AIS have on Manitoba's aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, and the importance of increasing AIS prevention across the province. AIS pose a social, economic, and ecological risk to Crown waterbodies and the public, and thus the prevention of outward AIS spread, and containment of AIS, is vitally important to all Manitobans.
The Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund provides application-based funding to a variety of applicant groups to support a range of AIS related prevention projects.
Priorities of the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund
The priorities of the fund are to:
- Contribute to the prevention of AIS introductions into uninvaded waterbodies.
- Contribute to the containment of existing AIS invasions.
- Promote AIS education through local initiatives.
- Mitigate the social and economic impacts of AIS invasions.
Who can apply?
Eligible applicants include the following:
- Indigenous communities, organizations, or governments
- Municipal governments
- Research and academic organizations
- Non-government organizations
- Community and resource-user groups
What does it fund?
Eligible project/program streams may include, but are not limited to:
- Physical Prevention – Contributing to the direct physical prevention of AIS entering uninvaded water bodies, such as:
- Inspection and/or decontamination efforts related to Municipal or Indigenous government by-laws, surrounding the use of Municipal or Indigenous government owned property and infrastructure.
- Education, Communication, and Outreach – Promoting activities that relate to AIS prevention and education, such as:
- Development and distribution of education materials within local areas.
- Erecting signage related to the AIS prevention, regulations, by-laws, or best practices.
- Outreach and education efforts outside of the broad public outreach conducted by the Manitoba government.
- Promoting Clean, Drain, Dry as a standard for AIS prevention and containment.
- Monitoring – Contributing to the early detection and monitoring of AIS, such as:
- Implementation of a passive monitoring program at a localized level.
- Implementation of an active monitoring program in collaboration with the Manitoba government.
- Response – Contributing to AIS response efforts, such as:
- Control and eradication of some AIS under the direction of the Manitoba government.
- Management – Mitigating the social and economic impacts of AIS invasion.
For a more detailed description of eligible and ineligible expenditures, and all other components, please review the Application Guide document.
When is the application deadline?
The application deadline has been extended to February 18, 2026.
Applications are usually due January 31 of each calendar year. The final reporting deadline is December 31 of the project year.
Interested in applying?
Please contact us before drafting your proposal as we can review your idea, share guidance and provide feedback to strengthen your application. To arrange a discussion, please email: AIS@gov.mb.ca; include "Prevention Fund Idea Discussion" in the email subject line.
Where to find more information?
For more details, please review the AIS Prevention Fund Application Guide.
Supporting Documents and Resources
Manitoba's Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan was released on July 9, 2024. The plan provides information on:
- AIS of most concern in Manitoba and outside of Manitoba, how to identify them, where they are located and how they can be inadvertently transported from one waterbody to another;
- Actions the Manitoba government is taking to manage aquatic invasive species proactively; and
- Actions that individuals and communities can take to prevent the movement of aquatic invasive species.
Everyone has a role to play in preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. Read Manitoba's Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Response Plan (Disponible en français) to learn more about what you can do.