Swimming and Water Safety

Know your breaststroke from your front crawl? Think you’d be fine if you found yourself unexpectedly swimming in open water? Every year, even great swimmers drown so here’s a few reasons why everyone, even strong swimmers, need to wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device (PFD).

When Lesley-Anne Morley took on leadership of the Indigenous Swimming and Water Safety program for the Canadian Red Cross in 2014, she never imagined that, years later, she would be adapting the program for a global pandemic.

Trying to beat the heat this summer? Nothing’s better than a good swim, especially if you have floaties and other recreational water toys to play with.

Unfortunately, improper water toy use can lead to accidents or injury.

Stay safe with these tips for different types of water toys.

For more than 70 years, the Canadian Red Cross has been teaching kids right across the country how to swim through programming that is engaging, age appropriate, and, most of all, focused on being safely active around water.

There may be some differences this swimming season - and please follow local guidelines and rules when it comes to public water - but skills in water safety and first aid stay the same. With that in mind, we are providing a series of online water safety sessions to help keep your first aid skills strong this season. 

National Lifejacket Day is on Thursday, May 14, and you're invited to celebrate with us!
While National Lifejacket Day might look different this year, there are a number of ways you and your family can participate, share knowledge, and help spread the word about lifejacket safety.

Not everyone knows that some dogs aren't natural swimmers, and even if they are we need to account for their water safety as well. Whether playing by a pool or walking near potentially thin ice, animal trainer Christie Springs wants to make sure we are including our furry friends when we talk water safety. 

Thirty years ago, in August 1989, Barb McNeill of Summerside, PEI, swam the English Channel, one of 15 Canadians to date and the only one from PEI who has done so. Decades later, her passion for swimming and water safety is perhaps rivalled only by the love of her golden retrievers.