Yukon Housing to test Whitehorse units for lead in drinking water after elevated levels found last year

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-21 17:02:29.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Infrastructure, Public Safety]

The Yukon Housing Corporation will conduct additional drinking water testing across public housing units in Whitehorse during the winter and spring following 2025 testing that identified elevated lead levels. Out of 192 units initially tested, 22 showed lead levels exceeding Health Canada guidelines, with follow-up assessments confirming higher-than-acceptable levels in six units (five occupied, one vacant, with no children residing in them). Yukon Housing Corporation Minister Scott Kent stated that stagnant water is the primary cause, prompting plans to flush vacant units and prioritize testing in older residential buildings constructed before 1990 that feature copper plumbing with lead-based solder.