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Lake Winnipeg, 23,750 km², elevation 217 m, estimated maximum depth 36 m, sixth-largest freshwater lake in Canada, is located in central Manitoba. Extending 416 km north-south, it drains approximately 984,200 km² of land by way of the Saskatchewan, Red-Assiniboine and Winnipeg river systems. (See also Largest Lakes in Canada.)

Lake Huron, 59,600 km², elevation 176 m, 332 km long, 295 km wide, max depth 229 m; total shoreline length, including islands, 6,159 km. Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes and fifth-largest lake in the world (see also Largest Lakes in Canada). In Canada, the Lake Huron is part of the traditional territories of the Tionontati (Petun), Neutral, Huron-Wendat and Anishinaabe. Samuel de Champlain visited Georgian Bay and Lake Huron with the French scout Étienne Brûlé in 1615.

Okanagan Lake is located in the southern interior of British Columbia and is the largest lake in the Okanagan Valley.

Nagwichoonjik, meaning "river flowing through a big country," is the Gwich'in name for the Mackenzie River, the longest river in Canada and the 9th longest river in the world. The river flows through the heart of the traditional homeland of the Gwichya Gwich'in, who now largely reside in  Tsiigehtchic (formerly Arctic Red River), a small community of 200 people at the confluence of the Arctic Red and Mackenzie rivers, in the northern part of the Northwest Territories. ( See also Indigenous Territory).

Great Bear Lake is located in the Northwest Territories. With a surface area of 31,328 km², Great Bear Lake is the largest lake located entirely inside Canadian borders. It is also the fourth largest in North America and the eighth largest in the world. Water flows out of the lake into the Great Bear River, then into the Mackenzie River. Other rivers connected to the lake include the Dease, Camsell and Johnny Hoe. Great Bear Lake is made up of five separate arms, each with their own names: Dease, McTavish, McVicar, Keith and Smith. (See also Largest Lakes in Canada.)

Lake Erie, 25,700 km² (including islands), of which 12,800 km² lie in Canada, elevation 173.3 m; 388 km long, 92 km wide and 64 m deep. The shallowest of the five major Great Lakes (excluding Lake St. Clair), it receives most of its waters from Lake Huron via the Detroit River. Other major inflowing streams are the Maumee and Cuyahoga rivers in Ohio, and the Grand River in Ontario. The lake outflows through the Niagara River at Fort Erie, falling almost 100 m to Lake Ontario; more than 50 m of this drop occurs at Niagara Falls. It is also joined to Lake Ontario by the Welland Canal. (See also Largest Lakes in Canada.)

Manitoulin Island, 2,765 km², the largest island in the world located in a lake, is part of an archipelago at the top of Lake Huron straddling the Ontario-Michigan border. Its northern shore encloses the North Channel, which leads to the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste Marie. An extension of the Niagara Peninsula, Manitoulin Island has an irregular, rocky shoreline and many interior lakes.

The St. Lawrence River is a grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. The river proper, about 1,197 km long, issues from Lake Ontario, flows northeast past Montreal and Quebec City to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The route of early explorers and the main axis of New France, the St. Lawrence River figured prominently in Canada's early history, and it remains the focus of settlement for much of the province of Quebec. It is still the most important commercial waterway in Canada, as well as a source of electric power and natural beauty. (See also St Lawrence Lowland.)