About The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
About Us
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a multinational coalition of municipal, Tribal, and First Nation leaders united through its U.S. and Canadian organizations, working to advance economic prosperity and protect fresh water across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region. Together, the coalition represents more than 425 communities.
The Cities Initiative and its members work to advance the economic, environmental, and social health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region and its communities through four strategic pillars:
- Healthy Lakes and Rivers
- Economic Transformation
- Climate and Coastal Resilience
- Safe and Affordable Water
Members of the coalition work together and with other orders of government, partners, and stakeholders to improve and modernize infrastructure, invest in freshwater stewardship and community development, and build the Fresh Coast Economic Corridor. Only by working together can we preserve and enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of the people of the region.
History
The organizing meeting of the Cities Initiative was held in Chicago on November 7, 2002. Mayors Richard M. Daley of Chicago and David Miller of Toronto called together a group of mayors from the U.S. and Canada to set the framework for the coalition’s creation.
The Cities Initiative was founded to give municipalities a stronger voice in decisions affecting the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region, encourage communities to share ideas and successful approaches, and raise the profile of this globally important freshwater resource with governments in the United States and Canada. While its early work focused on protecting water quality, safeguarding water supplies, and revitalizing waterfronts, its mission has since grown to support the long-term economic, environmental, and social health of communities in the region, and safeguard the region’s freshwater resources. The Cities Initiative started with a grant from the Joyce Foundation.
The U.S. entity was founded in 2003 by Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago and is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.
The Canadian organization was also founded in 2003 by Mayor David Miller of Toronto and is a registered non-profit corporation in Canada.
The organization started with 15 to 20 member cities and has since grown to include communities of all sizes from Western Lake Superior to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
In 2006, the Cities Initiative began collecting membership contributions to help support its work.
In 2024, the Cities Initiative expanded its membership to include First Nations and Tribal Nations through the Turtle Island Scholarship.
Both organizations receive their core funding from membership contributions, along with the generous support from the Joyce Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Fund for Lake Michigan, and the Wege Foundation.
Vision
The Cities Initiative and its members aim to advance an economically vibrant and clean, thriving, and resilient Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region, supported by a healthy fresh water basin.