There are 66 projects funded under the Northern Contaminants Program for the 2024-2025 year, with allocated funding support of approximately $5 million. These projects were subject to a comprehensive technical, peer, and northern social/cultural review process. This process ensures that each project supports the priorities and objectives of the Northern Contaminants Program, as outlined in the Program’s blueprints and annual call for proposals. Consultation with northern community authorities and/or Indigenous organizations is required for all projects involving field work in the North and/or analyses of samples.
| Project # | Project Title | Project Leader(s) | Funding Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-13 | Elevated exposure to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in Nunavimmiut adults: concentrations in select country foods and adverse effects on thyroid function | Mélanie Lemire and Pierre Ayotte (Université Laval), Amira Aker (University of Toronto) | $92,000 |
| H-15 | Environmental contaminants, nutrition, and human health in Nunavik 2004–2017: Analyzing existing data and promoting health of Nunavimmiut | Matthew Little (University of Victoria), Mélanie Lemire (Université Laval) | $171,350 |
| H-16 | Exceptionally high ergothioneine blood levels in Nunavimmiut: exploring the lichen-caribou connection and possible health benefits | Mélanie Lemire and Pierre Ayotte (Université Laval) | $165,106 |
| H-17 | Neurodevelopmental zebrafish model to investigate the potential of selenoneine in protecting against methylmercury neurotoxicity | Paul De Koninck (Université Laval) | $186,772 |
| H-18 | Biobank Sample Analysis from the Dehcho and Sahtú Regions, Northwest Territories, and Old Crow, Yukon | Brian Laird (University of Waterloo), Kelly Skinner (University of Waterloo) | $396,501 |
| H-19 | Country Foods for Good Health: Responding to community and regional priorities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Phase 3 | Sonja Ostertag (University of Waterloo) | $161,955 |
Total Funding Awarded to Human Health projects: $1,173,684
| Project # | Project Title | Project Leader(s) | Funding Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| CB-01 | Understanding fish mercury concentrations in Dehcho lakes | Mike Low (Decho), Heidi Swanson (Wilfrid Laurier University) | $41,831 |
| CB-10 | Community monitoring of plastic pollution in wild food and environments in Nunatsiavut | Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government), Max Liboiron (Memorial University) | $71,860 |
| CB-13 | Sources of methylmercury, perfluoroalkyl substances, and polychlorinated biphenyls to ringed seal food webs of Lake Melville, Northern Labrador | Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government), Jane Kirk and Amber Gleason (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $36,350 |
| CB-21 | This project aims to collect information on total mercury concentrations (THg) in Yukon freshwater fish. | Pascale Savage (Biologist), Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting) | $8,625 |
| CB-37 | Assessing vessel-based microplastics in Arviat and Pont Inlet Nunavut | Shirley Tagalik (Aqqiumavvik Society), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $88,690 |
| CB-40 | Hg, PFAS, and PCBs in Traditional Fisheries of the Eeyou Marine Region | Angela Coxon and Stephanie Varty (Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board) | $48,330 |
| CB-42 | Community-Based climate monitoring of mercury and microplastics in seawater and sediments | Deva-Lynn Pokiak (Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk) | $33,130 |
| CB-45 | The object of this project is to answer the question from the Arviat HTO ‘Are our traditionally harvested berries safe to eat?’ | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting) | $17,199 |
| CB-46 | Incorporating Inuit Traditional Knowledge, Historical and Seasonal Perspectives into Fast Identification of Substances of Hazard for Harvested Fish in the Kivalliq North Region of Nunavut | Dr. Chelsi McNeill-Jewer | $36,650 |
| CB-47 | Fish mercury levels in lakes near Fort Good Hope, NT | Dr. Alexa Scully (Operations Director), Dr. Heidi Swanson(Associate Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University) | $19,665 |
Total Funding Awarded to Community-Based Monitoring and Research projects: $402,330
| Project # | Project Title | Project Leader(s) | Funding Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-01 | Northern Contaminants Air Monitoring: Organic Pollutant Measurement | Hayley Hung (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $181,832 |
| M-02 | Air Measurements of Mercury at Alert and Little Fox Lake | Alexandra Steffen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $87,705 |
| M-03 | Passive Air Sampling Network for Organic Pollutants and Mercury | Hayley Hung and Alexandra Steffen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $35,808 |
| M-04 | Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Metals in Ringed Seals from the Canadian Arctic | Magali Houde (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Steve Ferguson (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) | $68,386 |
| M-05 | Temporal and Spatial Trends of Legacy and Emerging Organic and Metal/Element Contaminants in Canadian Polar Bears | Robert Letcher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $70,685 |
| M-06 | Assessing Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Canadian Arctic Air and Water Bodies as an Entry Point into the Arctic Food Chain | Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $54,450 |
| M-07 | Temporal trends of mercury and halogenated organic compounds (legacy, new and emerging) in three beluga populations landed at Hendrickson Island NT, Sanikiluaq NU and Pangnirtung NU | Lisa Loseto and Cortney Watt (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) | $77,184 |
| M-08 | Temporal Trends of Contaminants in Arctic Seabirds Eggs | Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Mark Mallory (Acadia University) | $84,258 |
| M-09 | Temporal trends and spatial variations in mercury in sea-run Arctic char from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut | Marlene S. Evans (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $17,600 |
| M-10 | Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Mercury in Landlocked Char in the High Arctic | Jane Kirk and John Chételat (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $69,125 |
| M-11 | Spatial and Long-term Trends in Persistent Organic Contaminants and Metals in Lake Trout and Burbot from the Northwest Territories | Marlene S. Evans (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $42,335 |
| M-12 | Temporal Trend Studies of Trace Metals and Halogenated Organic Contaminants (HOCs), Including New and Emerging Persistent Compounds, in Mackenzie River Burbot, Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories | Gary Stern (University of Manitoba) | $17,020 |
| M-13 | Contaminants in Yukon Lake Trout | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), Pascale Savage (Yukon Government) | $76,947 |
| M-14 | Caribou Contaminant Monitoring Program | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting) | $88,700 |
| M-15 | Community based seawater monitoring for organic contaminants and mercury in the Canadian Arctic | Jane Kirk, Amila De Silva and Amber Gleason (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $44,380 |
| M-17 | Cellular and Immunological Health Effects of Legacy and New Organic Contaminants in Canadian Polar Bears | Jean-Pierre Desforges (University of Winnipeg), Robert Letcher and Evan Richardson (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $28,808 |
| M-18 | An evaluation of microplastic and plastic additive chemical deposition in high Arctic ice cores from Axel Heiberg, Nunavut | Bonnie Hamilton and Alison Criscitiello (University of Alberta), Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $5,000 |
| M-20 | Climate change and plastic-related contaminants: interactive effects of multiple stressors on Arctic seabirds near their southern range limits across their annual cycle | Kyle Elliot (McGill University), Kim Fernie (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $55,525 |
| M-22 | Tissue distribution of microplastics and plastic additives in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Yukon and Nunavut, an extension of the project M-60 | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Zhe Lu (Université du Québec à Rimouski) | $50,452 |
| M-24 | Microplastics and plastic additives in Yukon Lake Trout, an extension project of M-13 | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Zhe Lu (Université du Québec à Rimouski) | $69,662 |
| M-26 | Microplastics and Associated Chemicals Contamination in Air, Snow, Ice, Water, Sediment, Zooplankton and Fish in the Canadian Arctic (M26) | Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Miriam Diamond (University of Toronto) | $31,200 |
| M-27 | Regional Transport and Multi-trophic Assessment of Microplastic Impact in the Canadian Arctic | Jordan Musetta-Lambert and Thomas Reid (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $75,000 |
| M-28 | Exploration of a New Monitoring Network Based on Exposure Model to Proactively Monitor Persistent Pollutants and Plastic Pollution in the Mackenzie Valley | Zhi Chen (Concordia University), Lorne Napier (Northwest Territory Métis Nation), Marlene S. Evans (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $1,150 |
| M-29 | Plastics and associated risks in northern-nesting birds sampled in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories | Jennifer Provencher and Kirsty Gurney (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $87,630 |
| M-31 | Arctic char (Ikaluk) and ringed seal (Natsik) health in Labrador: contaminant and climate change related effects | Tanya Brown (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Elizabeth Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government) | $36,182 |
| M-32 | Exploration of an integrated environmental multimedia monitoring network approach for the identification analysis of plastic pollution in Northern Canada | Zhi Chen (Concordia University), Lucy Grey (Kativik Regional Government), Zeyu Yang (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $1,150 |
| M-66 | Investigating microplastics and associated chemical contamination in Arctic char and their marine and freshwater habits near Cambridge Bay | Bonnie Hamilton (University of Alberta), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Roxana Suhring (Toronto Metropolitan University) | $57,380 |
| M-78 | Alert 2023 – Investigating the impacts of sea ice change on contaminants in Arctic air and water | Alexandra Steffen, Liisa M. Jantunen and Hayley Hung (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $71,900 |
Total Funding Awarded to Environmental Monitoring and Research projects: $1,587,454
| Project # | Project Title | Project Leader(s) | Funding Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-01 | Yukon Contaminants Committee (YCC) | Jen Laliberte (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), Aven Knutson (Council of Yukon First Nations) | $6,000 |
| C-02 | Northwest Territories Regional Contaminants Committee (NWT RCC) | Emma Pike (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), Lorne Napier (Northwest Territory Métis Nation) | $186,655 |
| C-03 | Nunavut Environmental Contaminants Committee (NECC) | Selma Al-Soweydawi (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), Jean Allen (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated) | $54,595 |
| C-04 | Nunavik Nutrition and Health Committee (NNHC): Coordinating and Learning from Contaminants Research in Nunavik | Marie-Josée Gauthier (Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services), Lucy Grey (Kativik Regional Government) | $106,433 |
| C-05 | Northern Contaminants Researcher – Nunatsiavut | Elizabeth Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government) | $64,228 |
| C-06 | Coordination, participation and communication: evolving Inuit Research Advisor responsibilities in Nunatsiavut for the benefit of Inuit and their communities | Carla Pamak (Nunatsiavut Government) | $23,750 |
| C-07 | Inuit Research Advisor (IRA) for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) | Shanay Williams (Innovation, Inuvialuit Science and Climate Change Division) | $80,615 |
| C-09 | Inuit Research Advisor for Nunavut | Cheryl Wray and Jean Allen (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated) | $77,262 |
| C-14 | Development of contaminant database, assessment of the current state of knowledge and recommendations for further research in the Kitikmeot region | Chantal Langlois (Government of Nunavut), Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), David Hik (Polar Knowledge Canada) | $14,260 |
| C-15 | Development of contaminant database, assessment of the current state of knowledge and recommendations for further research in Yukon | Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), Alison Perrin (Yukon University), Kyra St.Pierre (University of Ottawa) | $18,492 |
| C-16 | Northwest Territories Research Advisor | Trevor Teed (Lands & Environment Department), Phil Moon Sun (Dene Nation) | $57,500 |
| C-31 | Sharing Knowledge about beluga whales in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) | Kayla Hansen-Craik (Joint Secretariat), Jodie Maring (Joint Secretariat), Lisa Loseto (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) | $68,271 |
Total Funding Awarded to Communications, Capacity and Outreach projects: $758,061
| Project # | Project Title | Project Leader(s) | Funding Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-01A | Northern Contaminants Program Secretariat: Operational Support and Coordination for the NCP | Sarah Kalhok Bourque (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) | $322,200 |
| N-01B | Northern Contaminants Program and Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Interlaboratory Study (NCP-AMAP ILS) | Harold Malle (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $137,000 |
| N-01C | Data Management Support to the NCP from the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) /Polar Data Catalogue (PDC) to the Northern Contaminants Program | Gregory Vey (University of Waterloo) | $80,500 |
| N-01D | The NCP Publications Database: Making Northern Contaminants Program Publications More Accessible | Shannon Christoffersen (Arctic Institute of North America) | $50,543 |
| Total | $590,243 | ||
| N-02A | Canadian Support for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme for 2023/2024 | Rolf Rødven and Simon Wilson (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Secretariat) | $133,000 |
| N-02B | Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network in Support of Global Monitoring Plan (Effective Evaluation) of the Stockholm Convention on POPs | Tom Harner (Environment and Climate Change Canada) | $15,170 |
| Total | $148,170 | ||
| N-03A | Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) Participation in Northern Contaminants Program | Aven Knutson and Morgane Pennycook (Council of Yukon First Nations) | $41,417 |
| N-03B | Dene Nation Participation in the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) | Trevor Teed (Dene Nation) | $33,350 |
| N-03C | Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) National Coordination | Eric Loring (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) | $126,500 |
| N-03D | Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada’s Activities under the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) | Eva Kruemmel (Inuit Circumpolar Council) | $190,670 |
| Total | $391,937 | ||
Total Funding Awarded to Program Coordination and Indigenous Partnership projects: $1,130,350