The claim is supported for a defined lake-size range, but is misleading without that qualification. Canada's approximately 62% share refers to lakes counted using a minimum surface-area threshold of about 0.1 square kilometres, or 10 hectares.
HydroLAKES mapped approximately 1.42 million natural lakes meeting that threshold. Canada's 2026 climate report describes more than 875,000 Canadian lakes and approximately 62% of the global count in this size range. That exceeds the remaining countries combined.
This is not a census of every lake, regardless of size. An independent satellite-based inventory using a much smaller threshold, above 0.002 square kilometres, estimated approximately 117 million lakes globally. It demonstrates why inventory definitions matter; it does not independently establish Canada's share. Lake count also differs from total lake area or water volume.
Canada holds a majority of lakes in the cited size-defined inventory; the claim should include that threshold.
Environment and Climate Change Canada
The report identifies more than 875,000 Canadian lakes above 0.1 km², approximately 62% of the corresponding world count. This supports the comparison only within that scope.
Based on: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Messager and colleagues
HydroLAKES includes approximately 1.42 million natural lakes with surface areas of at least 10 hectares. Smaller lakes are outside that mapped inventory.
Based on: Nature Communications
Verpoorter and colleagues
The independent GLOWABO study estimated approximately 117 million lakes larger than 0.002 km². Its different threshold and methods prevent treating the HydroLAKES count as a count of all lakes.
Based on: Geophysical Research Letters
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