Multi-thematic
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
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Community Information Database (CID)The Community Information Database (CID) is a free internet-based resource developed to provide communities, researchers, and governments with access to consistent and reliable socio-economic and demographic data and information for all communities across Canada.
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GeoGratisGeoGratis is an open data portal from the Natural Resources Canada, allowing you to search for a variety of Canadian geospatial data. It is particularly useful to get satellite imagery and digital elevation models.
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Geography Network CanadaA geospatial data portal offered by Esri Canada.
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Government of Canada Open Data PortalThe Government of Canada's new Open Data Portal can be used to find a wide variety of Canadian data, including geospatial data.
Agriculture
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Canadian Soil Information ServiceCanadian soil survey data, maps and reports.
Base Data
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Cartographic Boundary FilesCartographic Boundary Files are a series of products containing the boundaries of standard geographic areas together with the shoreline around Canada and larger inland lakes, all integrated in a single layer. They are used to map Census of Population data, and can also be used with Census of Agriculture, National Household Survey, or other Statistics Canada data.
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
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Geogratis: Geospatial Data ExtractionDownload elevation and topographic data based on predefined or custom-defined geographic areas.
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Natural Resources Canada Land Survey DataIncludes links to Canada Lands Digital Cadastral Data, Administrative Boundaries for Canada Lands, Aboriginal Lands Administrative Boundaries, and Canadian Geopolitical Boundaries.
Business & Economics
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SimplyAnalyticsInternet-based mapping application that enables users to develop interactive thematic maps and reports using Canadian & US demographic, business, and marketing data. Can also download layers as shapefiles.
Elevation
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Geogratis: Geospatial Data ExtractionDownload elevation and topographic data based on predefined or custom-defined geographic areas.
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
Energy
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
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Natural Resources Canada Oil and Gas Grid DataA geo-spatial representation of the land division system, in NAD83 coordinates, is available in ShapefileTM format for oil and gas exploration and regulations. The dataset is composed of three layers: Grid Areas; Sections; and Units. The geo-spatial files cover the Northwest Territories (including the offshore), Nunavut (including the offshore), the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Hudson Bay.
Environment
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North American Environmental AtlasFrom the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the North American Environmental Atlas assembles seamless, accurate cartographic data, including maps, documentation, and interactive map layers at a scale of 1:10,000,000
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Nature Serve DataPublicly available animal, ecology and plant data available for free download.
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Natural Resources Canada Climate Change DataLinks to various GeoGratis searches on Climate Change data topics.
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Canadian Wildland Fire Information SystemThe National & Large Fire Databases are collections of forest fire locations as provided by Canadian fire management agencies including provinces, territories, and Parks Canada.
Land Cover/Land Use
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Alaska and Canada Land Cover1km resolution land cover data for Alaska and Canada from the USGS. (Data Produced: 2000)
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North American Environmental AtlasFrom the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the North American Environmental Atlas assembles seamless, accurate cartographic data, including maps, documentation, and interactive map layers at a scale of 1:10,000,000
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
Remote Sensing/Satellite Imagery
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GeoGratisGeoGratis is an open data portal from the Natural Resources Canada, allowing you to search for a variety of Canadian geospatial data. It is particularly useful to get satellite imagery and digital elevation models.
Transportation
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CanMap Content SuiteAn extensive library licensed data set from DMTI Spatial, Inc., which includes shapefiles covering all of Canada for transportation, points of interest, administrative boundaries, land use, physical features, building footprints, and more.
National Topographic System (NTS)
Topographic map coverage of Canada is based on the National Topographic System (NTS).
To navigate this series of maps to find the map depicting your area of interest, you must understand how they are organized (i.e., the National Topographic System (NTS) index). It is good to understand this organization, as it can sometimes be easier to find geospatial data for Canada by providing an NTS grid reference instead of a placename, especially in tools, such as GeoGratis.
Take a look at an online interactive map we created that helps you explore and navigate the NTS index (as well as other indexes) to get a better understanding of how it works.