The concept of open data is not new, and Governments all across Canada have been unlocking the potential of open data for Canadians through new innovative online portals, and expanded datasets.

Taking advantage of new technologies, some have been able to prioritize easy access to the data that the Canadian geospatial community can utilize to create third party products, while others are just getting started.

The CanadianGIS.com site started a Canadian geospatial data page in 2010 as a way to collaborate links to all Canadian Open Data (sites that offer data downloads at no cost and without restrictions), free geospatial data, online web mapping applications and other sources of geospatial information (including National, Provincial and Municipal levels). Now almost 10 years later, it has close to 200 different Canadian geospatial data sources listed.

This presentation highlights organizations that are clear open data leaders, as well as some of the relatively new portals, and share some of the great data sets are available to the cartographic community.