Every year in Canada there are between 450 and 500 fatal drownings, but most drownings are preventable. Learn how to be Water Smart® whenever you’re in, on, or around water!
Water Smart® is the Lifesaving Society’s public education initiative with the objective of making all Manitobans safe around water. Water Smart® delivers personal lifesaving education messages designed to modify high-risk
Read our Public Education Guide for some Water Smart® ideas.
Backyard Pool Safety
Want to stay safe in your backyard pool this summer?
No matter if you have an inflatable, a kiddie splash pool, a rigid side above ground set-up, or a full in-ground pool, we have tips to keep you safe. Print off our Backyard Pool Safety Tips today!
Flood Safety Tips
Floods can happen at any time of year in Manitoba. Do you know what to do to prevent yourself from drowning in one?
Review and print off our Flood Safety Tips to help keep you and your family safe if flooding strikes.
Swim to Survive®
With all the water in Canada, minimum swimming ability is a required life skill for survival. Learning to swim is the most immediate and effective way to prevent drowning and water-related injury.
Simple, straightforward and focused, the Canadian Swim to Survive® Standard defines the essential minimum skills required to survive an unexpected fall into water and forms the basis for the Lifesaving Society’s Swim for Life swimming program.
The Swim to Survive® Standard has received international attention and significant interest from injury prevention experts in Europe, Australia and in the United States.
Swim to Survive Standard
- Roll into water – Orient yourself at the surface after an unexpected entry
- Tread water for 1 minute – Support yourself at the surface and get your bearings
- Swim for 50 metres – Using any method of propulsion, swim to safety
Wear Your Lifejacket!
The Lifesaving Society’s drowning reports show that not wearing a lifejacket or personal flotation device (PFD) is a relevant factor in the majority of boating deaths. Many lives could be saved every year in Canada if lifejackets and PFDs were worn.
Lifejackets don’t work if you don’t wear them. Some people believe they can put on their lifejacket should they find themselves in an emergency. This is not true. Emergencies happen in a split-second, and people in these situations will not have the time to put on a lifejacket.
Here are some resources from our boating safety partners:
- SmartBoater.ca – An amazing resource with information for every type of boater in Canada. This site is complete with detailed videos.
- International Lifejacket Wear Principles – Important information about why lifejackets are so important and what various organizations believe.
- Transport Canada Office of Boating Safety – The authority on boating safety in Canada. Excellent resources that explain the rules and regulations regarding boating. Take our B.O.A.T. course to earn your Transport Canada Pleasure Craft Operator Card!