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What's new?

New format of distribution for the CanVec product soon to be released!

March 8th, 2010

For the next publication of the CanVec product, a new format of distribution will be available: FGDB (File Geodatabase). FGDB is an ESRI proprietary format geared for users who have an ArcGIS work environment. This format will be useful for users needing a large Canadian territory coverage such as a province or a territory or the entire country. It is important to mention this product will be an assembly of NTS files, meaning entities will not be merged when found in more than one NTS file. The data will not be seamless.

CanVec product downloading in FGDB format will be available by province or territory or for the entire Canadian coverage according to 11 themes: BS Buildings and structures, EN Energy, FO Relief and landforms, HD Hydrography, IC Industrial and commercial areas, LI Administrative boundaries, LX Places of interest, SS Water saturated soils, TO Toponymy, TR Transportation, and VE Vegetation. The CanVec product by province or territory will also be available in GML format. More information will be communicated to you at the next release of CanVec planned for the beginning of May 2010. Your comments are welcome!


2010 Olympic Sites Poster Map

February 5th, 2010

A promotional poster map has also been produced by the Mapping Information Branch depicting the location of 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games sites. The poster map covers a large region of southern British Columbia, and uses detailed inset maps to show all Olympic venues, from BC Place in downtown Vancouver, site of the opening and closing ceremonies, to the Richmond Oval, site of speed skating events, and the Whistler Olympic Park, site of ski events.

Download 2010 Olympic Sites Poster Map in PDF or TIFF


New Release: Toporama, now available!

November 18th, 2009

Toporama datasets are geo-referenced raster images that can be combined to cover an area of interest or serve as background data for various applications. This can be of significant interest to users of global positioning systems (GPS), hikers, and tourists who, without being Geomatics specialists, are nevertheless comfortable with digital topographic data.

This 3rd release of Toporama product corresponds to CanVec product 5th release and offers:

  • Addition of 154 new datasets;
  • Update of National Road Network (NRN) for 9 provinces and territories;
  • Update of geographical names for the entity Named feature;
  • 324 datasets now contain the entities Contour and Elevation point (metric);
  • Correction of discrepancies.

For more information, please refer to Toporama - Release notes (PDF version, 106 KB).


New Release: CanVec 1:50 000 now available!

November 3rd, 2009

This 5th release of CanVec offers:

  • Addition of 154 new datasets;
  • Update of National Road Network (NRN) for 9 provinces and territories;
  • Update of geographical names for the entity Named feature;
  • 324 datasets now contain the entities Contour and Elevation point (metric);
  • Correction of discrepancies.

For more information, please refer to CanVec - Release notes (PDF version, 108 KB).

Note: An improved symbology file (Style Sheet) is now available in the GeoGratis FAQ section.
Tested with the ArcMap 9.2 version.


New Release: CanTopo, now available!

November 3rd, 2009

This second release of next-generation topographic maps produced by NRCan includes 85 revised maps at 1:50 000 scale covering areas across Canada, including Central and Northern Ontario, Baffin Island and the Central Arctic.

See the complete list of newly released topographic maps at: ftp://ftp2.cits.nrcan.gc.ca/pub/cantopo/doc/20091222_CMO_maps_BCC_cartes.pdf.

Paper copies of all Canadian Topographic Maps are also available through Regional Distributors of the Canada Map Office, and through Certified Map Printers who ensure local, high quality, on-demand plotting of topographic maps.

CanTopo datasets are available in GeoPDF format. To know the advantage of the GeoPDF format, see this following question in the FAQ section: What are the GeoPDF format advantages for CanTopo product?


Vancouver 2010 Olympic Wall Map

November 3rd, 2009

This special edition 1:250 000 scale topographic map was produced to support the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This large-format wall map provides broad, up-to-date coverage of the Winter Games region in British Columbia.

Note: The MCR2010 map is available in TIFF and PDF formats under the CanTopo product.


Reminder - Important notice about Aboriginal Lands under "National Framework Canada Lands Administrative Boundaries Level 1" product!

November 3rd, 2009

Take note that the Aboriginal Lands included in the "National Framework Canada Lands Administrative Boundaries" will no longer be distributed via GeoGratis as of December 2009. A new Aboriginal Lands product is now available on the GeoBase Website.


North American Profile of International Standard on Geographic Information Metadata now available

November 3rd, 2009

Canadian General Standards Board Committee on Geomatics (CGSB-COG) and GeoConnections are proud to announce the publication of CAN/CGSB-171.100-2009 - North American Profile of ISO 19115: 2003 Geographic Information - Metadata (NAP - Metadata). Through a collaborative effort, the Canadian General Standards Board Committee on Geomatics (CGSB-COG) and the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards Technical Committee L1 (INCITS L1) developed the geographic metadata content needed to tailor the international standard ISO 19115 to meet the requirements of both Canada and the United States.

For more information, please refer to http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb/info/news/geographic_info_2009_07_07-e.html.


250K NTDB planimetric correction.

June 3th, 2009

In supporting the Northern Canadian users of topographic data at the scale of 1:250,000, Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) has applied planimetric corrections to existing NTBD files covering the 3 territories: Nunavut, Northwest and Yukon Territories for a total of 620 data sets. The geometric corrections have improved the overall accuracy of the data sets from 150-200 meters to 60 meters.

You can consult the 620 improved NTDB 1/250k files.


New Toporama Web Map Service (WMS)

May 5th, 2009

The Toporama WMS, a new Web Map Service provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is now available on-line! This new service offers upgraded viewing characteristics and updated topographical data on a regular basis (6 months release). The WMS-Toporama Service is composed of different topographic data stores and is offered under 16 layers of information, grouped by type under different scales such as: CanVec files at the scale 1:50,000, National Topographical Data Base (NTDB) at the scale of 1:250,000 and Atlas of Canada topographic data at a scale of 1:1,000,000. This variety of scales offers many options for data representation to meet user's needs.


Data collections recently added on GeoGratis.

February 11th, 2009

Atlas of Canada 1,000,000 National Frameworks Data, Hydrology-Dams
The dam dataset is based on the Canadian Dam Association Register of Dams in Canada.
Tactiles Maps of Canada
The Tactile Maps of Canada collection is intended to provide Canadians with visual impairments a foundation for improving knowledge about space, the environment and geography, and an enhanced quality of life through greater independence gained from increased mobility.
Gas Chromatography Data for Crude Oils, Condensates and Rock Extracts From Canadian and Selected International Sedimentary Basins
These data are used in the determination of: geochemical composition of crude oils and rock extracts.
Atlas of Canada 1,000,000 National Frameworks Data Census Subdivisions and Population Ecumene
The data consists of attributed area and linear data representing municipalities or areas considered to be equivalent to municipalities, and the ecumene, which identifies areas within the municipalities where population is concentrated. The boundaries reflect the 2006 Census of Canada.

Updated Collections.

February 11th, 2009

Landsat 7 Level 1-G Imagery over Canada
In cooperation with federal and provincial governments, GeoGratis is distributing full resolution Landsat 7 imagery for all of Canada.
National Framework Canada Lands Administrative Boundaries Level 1
Data collection from the Canada Centre for Cadastral Management is updated monthly on the GeoGratis site. The data provides the administrative boundaries (exterior limits) of Canada Lands.

New Product: CanMatrix - Print Ready now available!

January 15th, 2009

CanMatrix - Print Ready products are digital, raster files covering the Canadian landmass, and correspond to the National Topographic System (NTS) grid at 1:50,000 and 1: 250,000 scales. CanMatrix - Print Ready files contain all of the information shown on the front of the topographic map, and are suitable for high-quality hardcopy printing.


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