About MyGISData.ca
A Canadian spatial data platform being developed to provide production-ready geographic datasets and GIS services for professionals who need reliable, well-documented location data.
What We're Building
Canada's Spatial Data Platform
MyGISData.ca is being built as a dedicated platform for Canadian geographic data — designed specifically for GIS analysts, developers, data engineers, and organisations that work with spatial data professionally. The goal is a single, coherent source for production-ready Canadian datasets: properly documented, consistently formatted, and built to the standards that professional workflows actually require.
Rather than offering raw dumps of government data as-is, the intended approach is to normalise, validate, and document each dataset so it can move directly into a production pipeline without requiring extensive preparation work on the part of the user. That means consistent coordinate reference systems, validated topology, documented attribute schemas, and clear licence terms — the work that typically falls to the analyst or engineer before any actual analysis begins.
This platform is currently in development. The pages you are viewing are template previews of the planned site structure and content.
The Problem
Finding Reliable Canadian GIS Data Is Harder Than It Should Be
Canada has a genuinely strong open data ecosystem. Federal portals, Statistics Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and dozens of provincial and municipal open data initiatives publish enormous quantities of geographic data. That is, on balance, a good thing.
The challenge is that open data is not the same as ready-to-use data. Working professionally with Canadian spatial data typically involves:
- Locating the right dataset across fragmented portals with inconsistent naming conventions
- Reconciling differing coordinate reference systems — NAD83 variants, Web Mercator, and legacy projections co-exist without warning
- Dealing with topology errors and geometry inconsistencies that silently corrupt spatial joins
- Understanding licence terms that vary significantly across federal, provincial, and municipal sources
- Re-doing that preparation work every time a source dataset is updated
Commercial GIS data providers do exist, but many are oriented toward American market needs or offer Canadian data only as a secondary market with reduced depth, outdated boundaries, or limited geographic specificity. The result is a gap: the open data exists, but consistent, professionally prepared Canadian spatial data requires significant effort to produce.
MyGISData.ca is intended to close that gap.
Common Pain Points Being Addressed
- Inconsistent CRS across data sources
- No single authoritative source for Canadian boundaries
- Topology errors in raw government downloads
- Unclear or mixed licence terms
- No documented update cadence
- Attribute naming inconsistency across vintages
Our Standard
What We're Building Toward
Every dataset on MyGISData.ca is intended to meet a consistent set of quality criteria before it is published. These are not aspirational statements — they are the minimum bar for listing.
Source Transparency
Every dataset documents its original source, the version or vintage of the source data used, and any transformations applied. No data arrives with unexplained provenance.
Documented Methodology
Processing steps — reprojection, topology repair, attribute standardisation, join logic — are documented in a methodology page, not hidden in a pipeline.
Proper CRS Handling
Coordinate reference systems are documented with EPSG codes. Canadian datasets default to NAD83 (EPSG:4617 or appropriate projection). WGS84 variants are offered where relevant.
Format Consistency
Datasets are delivered in consistent, standard formats — GeoJSON, GeoPackage, and Shapefile at minimum. Attribute field names and types are standardised across dataset vintages.
Update Cadence Documentation
Each dataset documents its expected update frequency and the date of the last update. When a source dataset changes, the corresponding processed version is updated and versioned.
Licence Clarity
The licence governing each dataset is clearly stated before purchase or download. Open Government Licence terms, Statistics Canada redistribution conditions, and any commercial licence restrictions are plainly documented.
Why Canadian Specificity Matters
Built for the Canadian Geographic Context
Canadian spatial data has particular characteristics that generic GIS datasets — even high-quality ones — do not address well. MyGISData.ca is being designed with these in mind from the outset.
Statistics Canada Geographies
Canada's statistical geography framework — census subdivisions, census divisions, dissemination areas, census tracts, enumeration areas — is the backbone of demographic and socioeconomic spatial analysis in Canada. These geographies change with every census and require careful versioning. The platform is being designed to track and document census geography vintages explicitly.
NAD83 Reference System
The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) is the standard geodetic reference system for Canadian federal geographic data. NAD83 is not the same as WGS84, and the difference matters at professional precision levels. Datasets on this platform default to NAD83 with proper EPSG documentation, and WGS84 equivalents are provided where appropriate for web and mobile applications.
Provincial and Territorial Complexity
Canadian administrative geography involves 10 provinces and 3 territories with distinct governing frameworks, differing municipal structures, and independent open data programmes with varying terms and coverage. Spatial data that crosses jurisdictions requires careful reconciliation — especially for boundaries, health regions, electoral districts, and road networks.
Bilingual Requirements
Federal geographic data is bilingual by obligation, and provincial data from Quebec and New Brunswick requires French-language attributes. The platform is being built to carry bilingual attribute fields where they exist in source data, and to document language coverage for each dataset.
Distinct Administrative Structures
Canadian administrative structures — forward sortation areas, census subdivisions, health authorities, land claim areas, First Nation reserves, national parks, and unorganised territories — do not map cleanly onto the administrative structures assumed by generic datasets. MyGISData.ca is intended to support these specifically, rather than approximating them from generic international datasets.
Northern and Remote Coverage
A significant portion of Canada's land mass is sparsely populated and underserved by commercial data providers focused on high-density markets. The platform intends to treat national coverage as a real requirement, including the territories, remote communities, and northern regions — not only the urban corridors.
Privacy and Responsible Use
A Privacy-First Commitment
MyGISData.ca is being built around geographic reference data — boundaries, networks, census geographies, administrative divisions — not personal location data. The platform does not intend to collect, process, or distribute data at a resolution or granularity that would identify individuals or households.
Statistics Canada Redistribution Terms
Statistics Canada data is distributed under specific terms that govern how it may be reproduced and redistributed. The platform is being designed to respect these terms explicitly, including the conditions of the Statistics Canada Open Licence and any dataset-specific redistribution conditions. Licence terms are documented on each dataset page.
Open Government Licence Compliance
Federal datasets distributed under the Open Government Licence – Canada are handled in accordance with that licence's requirements, including attribution and the prohibition on implying endorsement by the Government of Canada. Where provincial or territorial open data licences apply, those terms are also documented and respected.
No Personal Location Data
The platform does not intend to distribute data derived from individual location tracking, mobile device signals, credit card transactions, or other sources of personal behavioural data. The focus is on authoritative geographic reference data from government and institutional sources.
Licence Categories Planned
The Company Behind It
MyWaypoint Technologies
MyGISData.ca is being developed by MyWaypoint Technologies Inc., a Canadian company building a broader ecosystem of data platforms and tools. MyWaypoint's focus is on making structured, well-documented data accessible for professional and commercial use in Canada. MyGISData.ca is the spatial data component of that ecosystem — purpose-built for geographic and GIS workflows rather than adapted from a more general data catalogue. If you are interested in the broader data ecosystem or have requirements that go beyond spatial data, the MyWaypoint data ecosystem is the right starting point.
Interested in What We're Building?
If you have requirements, questions, or want to be notified when the platform launches, get in touch. Early feedback from GIS professionals helps us prioritise what to build first.