TORONTO, November 15, 2017 – To celebrate Geography Awareness Week and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day today, Esri Canada invites everyone to access the Community Map of Canada. Such a big project is never complete because places are always evolving, but this Canada 150 project, seven years in the making, now covers the majority of municipalities in the country.

“The Community Map of Canada is the first uniform, detailed and accessible digital basemap of Canada that’s free for everyone to use,” says Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “It’s built from data contributions as well as open data from local authorities across the country. We’ve been working with authoritative sources to ensure this map is as accurate as possible and would like to thank all those who have contributed to the development of this basemap.”

The Community Map of Canada currently serves more than 200 million map requests per month from organizations in government, business and academia. It allows municipalities to quickly make specific maps by adding their own information to the basemap, so people who live or want to visit can see where facilities, such as parks and bike lanes, as well as other relevant community features, are. For example, local authorities can update and change the map.  Businesses can add their own research to the map, so that they can make a more informed decision about where to put a retail outlet.

One wonderful example of how the map was used is to show the progress of the completion of The Great Trail. The national basemap has also been used to create useful apps including Toronto Police Service’s Weekly Major Crime Indicators, National Capital Commission's Discover Canada's Capital Region and City of Repentigny’s Mes services municipaux (My Municipal Services), to name a few.

As well, the Community Map of Canada is enabling the creation of other national basemaps for various purposes, such as the Community Cadastral Map of Canada and the Community Transportation Map of Canada.

Mr. Miller has always held an unwavering vision of a company that would build community by applying geographic knowledge through the use of GIS solutions. He and his company stretch the boundaries of where GIS can be applied, seeking new ways to use it to build community and solve problems.

In conjunction with the Community Map of Canada project, Esri Canada developed the GeoFoundation Exchange (GFX), a national, collaborative open data exchange for accurate and authoritative geographic data. The GFX is modernizing Canada’s digital mapping infrastructure and is designed to facilitate the efficient, cost-effective collection and maintenance of Canadian basemap data using innovative cloud-based services. This results in more accurate, current, complete and usable basemaps for public use. Esri Canada is building the GFX in cooperation with participants from all levels of government across the country. Read more about: The GeoFoundation Exchange - Enabling Nationwide Collaboration.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography. The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, LLC and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Esri Canada joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies in 2012 and became a Gold Standard winner in 2015. The company has also been named to the Branham300 and Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

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