Royal Life Saving Society of Canada

The Royal Life Saving Society Canada operates throughout Canada as the Lifesaving Society. The Lifesaving Society is a national, volunteer and charitable organization and registered charity composed of 10 provincial/territorial Branches, tens of thousands of individual members, and over 4,000 affiliated swimming pools, waterfronts, schools and clubs. The Society works to prevent drowning and water-related injury through its training programs, Water Smart public education, drowning prevention research, safety management and lifesaving sport.

The Royal Life Saving Society arrived in Canada in 1894 with its Honorary Representative, Arthur Lewis Cochrane who joined the faculty of Upper Canada College as a "Drill Instructor". The Society became formalized with the establishment of the Ontario Branch in 1908 as the first Canadian branch of the Royal Life Saving Society UK.

Over 1,000, 000 Canadians participate in the Society's swimming, lifesaving, lifeguard and leadership training programs annually. The Lifesaving Society is incorporated in Canada under the name "The Royal Life Saving Society Canada/La Société Royale de Sauvetage Canada" but has branches for every province and territory. The Lifesaving Society represents Canada in the International Life Saving Federation and the Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth. The Society sets the standards for aquatic safety in Canada and certifies Canada's National Lifeguards. The Society is the Canadian governing body for lifesaving sport - a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Lifesaving Society certifications include:

The Lifesaving Society also trains Coaches and Officials for lifesaving sport.

In 2012, The Lifesaving Society joined forces with The Canadian Red Cross and the Public Health Agency of Canada to launch the Open Water Wisdom initiative, which is a community water activity safety program dedicated to bringing awareness to recreational water safety issues nationally and in hundreds of remote communities across Canada.

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