The Lifesaving Society is a national, not-for-profit, charitable organization.  Its mission is to prevent drowning and other water-related incidents in Canada by providing lifesaving, lifeguarding and leadership education; and public education.

What is drowning?
A new definition of drowning was adopted by the 2002 World Congress on Drowning and subsequently by the World Health Organization. Specifically: Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion / immersion in liquid. Outcomes of drowning may be: death, morbidity, or no morbidity. In other words, a person may die from drowning; be injured by a drowning episode; or escape from drowning through rescue or other means.

History of the Lifesaving Society
The Lifesaving Society has a long and proud history of teaching lifesaving to Canadians.

Its roots trace back to the late 19th century in London, England where it began as The Swimmer’s Life Saving Society. In 1894, Arthur Lewis Cochrane brought to Canada the lifesaving skills he learned in his homeland, and he passed them along to students at Upper Canada College in Toronto, Ontario.

In June 1896, eighteen of his students were the first recipients of our distinguished Bronze Medallion award, the first award created by the Society. Under the patronage of King Edward VII in 1904, Society became The Royal Life Saving Society. Today, it is simply called the Lifesaving Society.

In the 1950s, the Lifesaving Society was the first Canadian organization to adopt mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing as the method of choice over manual methods of artificial respiration. CPR training followed in the 1960’s.  In the 1980s, the Society initiated a project to design an economical CPR training manikin now known as ACTAR 911®.

The Saskatchewan Branch

• The Saskatchewan Branch of the Lifesaving Society was incorporated in 1964.
• The Branch Office is operated out of Regina, SK.
• The Branch has a volunteer Board of Directors and operates under the Carver Policy Governance Model.  Directors are elected for two-year terms each March at the Annual General Meeting. Directors work closely with the moral owners and members of the Society to develop policies and direction for the Saskatchewan Branch.
• A Chief Executive Officer and staff are employed by the Branch.  Additional summer and contract staff are also hired as required.
• A team of Regional Consultants volunteer across the province, serving as official Society representatives.  They help to coordinate Lifesaving Society activities and provide program support to Lifesaving Society affiliates.
• Over 11,000 Saskatchewan people are trained and certified annually in the awards of the Canadian Lifesaving Program. In addition, the Society reaches thousands of residents of the province with year‑round and seasonal Water Smart® public education messages.

Board of Directors