Maude Victoria Barlow (born May 24, 1947) is a Canadian author and activist. She is the national chairperson of The Council of Canadians, a citizens’ advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, which works internationally for the right to water. Maude chairs the board of Washington-based Food & Water Watch and is also an executive member of the San Francisco—based International Forum on Globalization and a Councillor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. She is the recipient of ten honorary doctorates as well as many awards, including the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the “Alternative Nobel”), the Citation of Lifetime Achievement at the 2008 Canadian Environment Award, and the 2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award. In 2008/2009, she served as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly. She is also the best selling author or co-author of 16 books, including the international best seller Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.
Maude Barlow is the recipient of many educational awards and has received honorary doctorates from ten Canadian universities for her social justice work. She is the recipient of the “2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship Award," the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the "Alternative Nobel") for her global water justice work, and is the Citation of Lifetime Achievement winner of the 2008 Canadian Environment Awards.
Parcel of Rogues: How Free Trade Is Failing Canada — Key Porter Books, Toronto (1990)
Take Back the Nation (with Bruce Campbell) — Key Porter Books, Toronto (1992)
Take Back the Nation 2 (with Bruce Campbell) — Key Porter Books, Toronto (1993)
Class Warfare: The Assault on Canada’s Schools (with Heather-Jane Robertson) — Key Porter Books, Toronto (1994) ISBN 1-55013-559-7.
Straight through the Heart: How the Liberals Abandoned the Just Society (with Bruce Campbell) — Harper Collins, Toronto (1995) ISBN 0-00-638580-X.
The Big Black Book: The Essential Views of Conrad and Barbara Amiel Black (with Jim Winter) — Stoddart, Toronto (1997) ISBN 0-7737-5904-2.
MAI: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the Threat to Canadian Sovereignty (with Tony Clarke) — Stoddart (1997) ISBN 0-7737-5946-8.
MAI: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the Threat to American Freedom (with Tony Clarke) — Stoddart, Toronto (1998)
The Fight of My Life: Confessions of an Unrepentant Canadian — Harper Collins, Toronto (1998) ISBN 0-00-255761-4.
MAI: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment Round 2; New Global and Internal Threats to Canadian Sovereignty (with Tony Clarke) — Stoddart, Toronto (1998)
Frederick Street: Life and Death on Canada’s Love Canal (with Elizabeth May) — Harper Collins, Toronto (2000)
Global Showdown: How the New Activists Are Fighting Global Corporate Rule (with Tony Clarke) — Stoddart, Toronto (2001) ISBN 0-7737-3264-0.
Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World’s Water (with Tony Clarke) - Stoddart, Toronto (2002) ISBN 0-7710-1086-9.
Profit Is Not the Cure: A Citizen’s Guide to Saving Medicare — McCelland & Stewart, Toronto (2002) ISBN 0-7710-1084-2.
Too Close For Comfort; Canada’s Future Within Fortress North America — McClelland & Stewart, Toronto (2005) ISBN 0-7710-1088-5.
Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Fight for the Right to Water — McClelland & Stewart, Toronto (October 16, 2007) ISBN 978-0-7710-1072-9. Also available in French, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Turkish, and Spanish.
Books: contributing author
The Silent Revolution: Media, Democracy, and the Free Trade Debate - University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa (1990)
Trading Freedom: How Free Trade Affect our Lives, Work, and Environment - Institute for Policy Studies, Washington (1992)
The American Review of Canadian Studies - Twentieth Anniversary Issue of The Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, Washington (1992)
Crossing the Line: Canada and Free Trade With Mexico- New Star Publications, Vancouver (1992)
The Charlottetown Accord, the Referendum, and the Future of Canada - University of Toronto Press, Toronto (1993)
The Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada - Black Rose Books, Edmonton (1995)
The Case Against the Global Economy - Sierra Club Books, New York (1996)
Globalization and the Live Performing Arts, Conference Papers - Monash University, Melbourne (2001)
Alternatives to Economic Globalization, a Report of the International Forum on Globalization - Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco (2002)
Whose Water Is It? The Unquenchable Thirst of a Water-Hungry World - Edited by Bernadette McDonald and Douglas Jehl, National Geographic, Washington (2003)
Meeting the Global Challenge: Competitive Position and Strategic Response - BMA Program, Edited by Tom Wesson, York University Press, Toronto (2004)
Globalization, Human Rights & Citizenship, An Anthology From the Gannett Lecture Series - Rochester Institute of Technology, Edited by Robert Manning — trade paperback (2005)
Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World’s Water Supply - International Forum on Globalization, San Francisco (June 1999)
The Free Trade Area of the Americas, The Threat to Social Programs, Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice - International Forum on Globalization, San Francisco (February 2001)
The World Trade Organization and the Threat to Canada’s Social Programs - The Council of Canadians, Ottawa (September 2001)
Profit is not the Cure: A Call to Action on the Future of Health Care in Canada - The Council of Canadians, Ottawa (Winter 2002)
Making the Links, A Citizen’s Guide to the World Trade Organization and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (with Tony Clarke) - The Council of Canadians, Ottawa (Summer 2003)
The Global Fight Against Privatization of Water - Annual Report, The World Forum on Alternatives, Geneva (April 2004)
The Canada We Want, A Citizen’s Alternative to Deep Integration - The Council of Canadians, Ottawa (March 2004)
Barlow is in the feature documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars by Sam Bozzo.
Barlow is featured in two other recent documentaries about water rights issues: Irena Salina's documentary For Love of Water, and Liz Marshall's Water On The Table. Barlow also contributes to a blog associated with Water On The Table.
Barlow is the subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary Democracy à la Maude as well as a CBC TV Life and Times] biography.
