Blue Flag: Cleanest Beaches and Marinas in Canada

Swim Drink Fish has announced the list of beaches and marinas that have earned this year’s prestigious Blue Flag Canada award.

Credit: appaIoosa/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Blue Flag is an international award for beaches and marinas that meet high environmental, safety, and cleanliness standards.

Of the 23 beaches and marinas recognized with a 2026 Blue Flag, all 13 beaches are located in Ontario. The marina list is more spread out. Eight of the 10 are in Ontario, with one each in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Parlee Beach in New Brunswick, along with Moonlight Beach and Bell Park Beach in Sudbury, lost their Blue Flag status this year after previously holding the designation for the last few years. Trent Port Marina was newly awarded Blue Flag status this year.

Swim Drink Fish administers the Blue Flag program in Canada and is one of 51 National Operators in the Blue Flag International network.

To be certified, “A Blue Flag beach must have at least one sampling point, which must be located where the concentration of bathers is highest. In addition, where there are potential sources of pollution, e.g. near streams, rivers or other inlets, stormwater outlets, etc. additional sampling points must be established at these sites to provide evidence that such inflows do not affect bathing water quality. The beach must comply with the Blue Flag requirements for the microbiological parameter Escherichia coli (fecal coli bacteria) and intestinal enterococci (streptococci).”