The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), in partnership with the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG)
April 25, 2025
Disclaimer
Neither Natural Resources Canada nor any of its employees makes any express or implied warranty or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the contents of this report. Reference in the report to any specific commercial product, process, service or organization does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation or favouring by Natural Resources Canada. The views and opinions of round table participants expressed in this report do not necessarily state or reflect those of Natural Resources Canada.
This document was prepared or accomplished by TDV Global in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this summary do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Natural Resources Canada.
Table of Contents
Executive summary
Purpose
The Round Table on Technology convened on March 19, 2025, as part of a collaborative initiative co-led by the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) and the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG) to seek views from partners and stakeholders on how to modernize and strengthen Canada’s Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). Hosted virtually, this session brought together participants from academia, Indigenous organizations, the private sector, and municipal, provincial/territorial and federal governments, to examine three technology-focused pathways under the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF): data, innovation, and standards. Participants explored how emerging tools, platforms, and collaborative models could strengthen geospatial data accessibility, integration, and usability.
This round table was one of eight round tables that also explored topics of governance, people, infrastructure, public safety, and strengthening Indigenous participation.
Key insights
Round table participants identified the following strengths, areas for improvement, and recommendations:
Strategic Pathway 4: Data
- Canada lacks a national inventory of key geospatial datasets, which limits the ability to integrate geospatial with other data and use it effectively in decision-making across sectors.
- Inconsistent metadata and siloed data systems hinder data discoverability, reuse, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration.
- Gaps exist in data on population movement, housing, and service access, which affects emergency response and equity planning, in particular.
- A unified data catalogue, improved metadata standards, and open access to authoritative, analysis-ready datasets are essential to modernize Canada’s spatial data infrastructure.
Strategic Pathway 5: Innovation
- Geospatial innovation investments remain short-term and fragmented, with no national leadership to coordinate priorities or to scale successful initiatives.
- Smaller organizations and Indigenous communities often lack access to cloud platforms, AI-ready datasets, and next-generation technologies.
- Participants stressed the importance of funding collaborative projects, supporting commercialization pathways, and building infrastructure for AI-driven innovation.
- Promoting “Time to First Hello World” design principles can lower technical barriers and make geospatial tools more accessible to diverse users.
Strategic Pathway 6: Standards
- Canada lacks a coordinated geospatial standards strategy, resulting in fragmented metadata, schemas, and vocabularies across jurisdictions.
- Inconsistent standards limit data discoverability, cross-platform integration, and reuse, especially for emergency management and national coordination.
- Academic, Indigenous, and private sector participation in standards-setting processes remains low, which limits inclusivity and innovation potential.
- Participants called for a centralized standards authority, multilingual metadata, DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers), and a compliance framework to drive broader standards adoption.
Recommended actions
- Advance a national geospatial innovation coordination body or strategy.
- Modernize Canada’s metadata standards and support alignment with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO (International Organization for Standards) models.
- Expand access to Artificial Intelligence- (AI-) ready and analysis-ready geospatial data through cloud-first platforms.
- Strengthen awareness and participation in standards development from academic, private, and Indigenous partners.
Conclusion
The Round Table on Technology affirmed Canada’s opportunity to lead in geospatial innovation through inclusive, standards-driven, and collaborative approaches. Participants identified improving data accessibility, supporting responsible innovation, and building interoperability across platforms and jurisdictions as priorities. The path forward will require coordination, investment, and a commitment to openness and making long-term impact.
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Acknowledgements
This report would not have been possible without the contributions of individuals and organizations who took the time to participate in the round table. We extend our gratitude to the participants from industry, academia, Indigenous organizations, NGOs, and federal, provincial, and municipal governments for their valuable insights into Canada's geospatial infrastructure.
Introduction
CCMEO and CCOG are using the global best practice model of the UN-IGIF as a framework for assessing the current state, and planning for the future evolution of, Canada’s geospatial data ecosystem - the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). The CGDI is the collection of geospatial data, and the standards, policies, applications, and governance that facilitate its access, use, integration, and preservation in Canada.
Phase 1 of this exercise entailed a stock-take exercise using three data collection methods: 1) individual/small group interviews with provincial/territorial and federal geospatial data producers and users; 2) a written inventory/survey to collect more detailed information from interviewee organizations; 3) a research-based desk study undertaken by a third party.
Phase 2 shifted from assessing the CGDI to gathering diverse perspectives to help shape the modernization and evolution of how Canada manages and uses spatial data. Using a round table approach, stakeholders and partners were invited to share their perspectives to help guide Canada’s geospatial future to make it more responsive, innovative, and effective for all Canadians. The results of the round tables will be considered by the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG) in the development of a collaborative geospatial strategy.
The Round Table on Technology convened on March 19, 2025. Hosted virtually, this round table invited stakeholders and partners to provide their perspectives on how evolving technology can better support the creation, management, and use of geospatial data across the country. The goal was to support collaborative governance and strategic alignment across government levels, Indigenous organizations, industry, and academia. The round table focused on three technology-focused strategic pathways of the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF):
- Data
- Innovation
- Standards
Participants shared their views on how to modernize Canada’s Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), for example, by advancing innovation, improving data interoperability, and strengthening collaboration. Discussions emphasized the need for shared standards, open and accessible datasets, coordinated national investment, and technology solutions aligned with long-term societal priorities. The following sections provide details on the challenges, solutions, opportunities, and thoughts of round table participants on each of the technology strategic pathways.
Results
Strategic Pathway 4: Data
Key challenges identified
- Fragmented dataset inventory: Canada lacks a unified national inventory of fundamental geospatial datasets, resulting in fragmented, siloed systems.
- Inconsistent metadata standards: Data discoverability and integration are constrained by inconsistent metadata standards and limited interoperability.
- Restricted data availability: Many geospatial datasets are still project-based, privately held, or behind restrictive agreements that limit access and reuse.
- Human data gaps: There are critical gaps in "human" geospatial data (e.g., population movement, housing, services), especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
Solutions and opportunities
- Centralized data inventory: Create a centralized and standardized inventory of fundamental geospatial datasets, including authoritative layers such as building footprints and infrastructure networks.
- Improved metadata practices: Improve metadata quality and discoverability by adopting common metadata schemas and encouraging persistent DOIs.
- Federated data sharing: Support federated, decentralized data sharing models with common standards, reducing duplication and enabling consistent access.
- Open and curated datasets: Prioritize open access to curated and analysis-ready datasets to increase their usability, especially for innovation and emergency response.
- Stronger human data coordination: Address gaps in human and demographic geospatial data by enhancing cross-departmental coordination and removing red tape around internal data access.
Participant voices
- Academia participant: “Success is when you build a database that is easy to access and usable by many.”
- Federal Government participant: “We must think about preserving data for the long term—interoperability and continuity are critical for the full lifecycle of the data.”
- Industry participant: “Authoritative, complete, up-to-date data and collaboration are the keys to success.”
- Academia participant: “There’s a major gap in human geospatial data—often it’s collected for specific projects rather than for overarching needs.”
- Industry participant: “We need to improve discoverability and ensure transformation into usable end products.”
Strategic Pathway 5: Innovation
Key challenges identified
- Lack of innovation strategy: There is no national geospatial innovation strategy to coordinate efforts across government, academia, and industry.
- Fragmented innovation efforts: Innovation remains fragmented and is typically driven by short-term, project-based approaches with limited scalability.
- Limited access to tools: Access to cloud services, AI-ready datasets, and modern tools remains limited—particularly for smaller organizations and Indigenous communities.
- Dependence on proprietary systems: Many innovation initiatives suffer from over-reliance on proprietary technologies and restrictive licensing arrangements.
Solutions and opportunities
- Central innovation hub: Establish a central coordinating body or hub to support and scale geospatial innovation across sectors.
- Open data and partnerships: Provide open access to high-quality, frequently updated datasets, and fund innovation partnerships that include opportunities for prototyping and operational scaling.
- Incentivized R&D programs: Introduce funding programs with matching grants, collaborative requirements, and clear commercialization pathways to incentivize research and development (R&D).
- Investment in modern platforms: Invest in cloud-based platforms, analysis-ready data, and AI-compatible architectures to reduce the burden of data movement and improve real-time usability.
- User-friendly tool development: Encourage “Time to First Hello World” approaches thereby ensuring tools are quick to adopt, easy to test, and broadly accessible.
Participant voices
- Industry participant: “Success is about how ready we are for AI; interoperability is key.”
- Not-for-profit participant: “Make it automagical; allow conversions across standards and systems without losing trust in the data.”
- Academia participant: “Willingness to share data is a bigger barrier than the technology itself.”
- Federal Government participant: “There’s no shame in showing the known quality of your data; transparency matters.”
Strategic Pathway 6: Standards
Key challenges identified
- No standards strategy: Canada lacks a national standards strategy and a centralized body responsible for geospatial standardization.
- Metadata inconsistencies: Metadata formats, schemas, and vocabularies are inconsistent across jurisdictions and agencies.
- Outdated standards: Many existing standards are outdated (e.g., Harmonized North American standards) or are not well aligned with emerging international frameworks like Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
- Discoverability challenges: Discoverability, especially for emergency management and cross-jurisdictional services, is hindered by inconsistent or missing metadata.
- Limited stakeholder participation in standards: There is insufficient participation from academia, the private sector, and Indigenous organizations in standards-setting activities.
Solutions and opportunities
- Centralized standards authority: Create a centralized standards authority to coordinate Canada’s geospatial standards with global frameworks (e.g., OGC, ISO, W3C).
- Modernized metadata schemas: Modernize national metadata standards, using common schemas such as GeoJSON and enabling extensions to support Indigenous languages, place names, and orthographies.
- Tiered compliance approach: Implement a tiered compliance framework, supported by funding incentives, certification programs, and awareness campaigns.
- Semantic and metadata improvements: Promote semantic consistency and machine-readable metadata to improve data discoverability across platforms and tools.
- Dataset provenance via DOIs: Support integration of DOIs for datasets to support provenance, citations, and long-term usability.
Participant Voices
- Industry participant: “You know standards are successful when you don’t even know you’re using them.”
- Industry participant: “It’s 2025 and we still haven’t solved discoverability—emergency services still can’t pull in what they need fast enough.”
- Not-for-profit participant: “Metadata often lacks support for depth, altitude—schema.org needs to be extended.”
Cross-cutting themes
Interoperability and discoverability
- Consistent metadata critical: Success depends on consistent metadata, semantic alignment, and accessible, standards-compliant platforms.
- Cross-platform access essential: Cross-platform data interoperability is crucial for emergency response, research, and public service delivery.
Collaboration and roles
- Clarifying shared responsibilities: Defined roles and shared responsibilities need to be identified across government, academia, and the private sector.
- Multi-sector governance needed: Standards and innovation cannot be government-led alone; coordinated, multi-sector governance is required.
Trust and accessibility
- Transparency builds confidence: Transparency around data quality, openness, and usage rights build trust.
- Ease of use matters: Easy-to-use platforms and clear documentation improve adoption across sectors and levels of expertise.
Next steps
Suggested actions
- Advance a national geospatial innovation coordination body or strategy.
- Modernize Canada’s metadata standards and support alignment with OGC and ISO models.
- Expand access to AI-ready, analysis-ready geospatial data through cloud-first platforms.
- Strengthen awareness and participation in standards development from academic, private, and Indigenous partners.
Open questions raised by round table participants
- Who will lead the creation of a national geospatial standards authority?
- How can Canada incentivize innovation while ensuring open access and ethical data governance?
- What compliance mechanisms should accompany Canada’s geospatial metadata and data-sharing standards?
- How can federated governance models support alignment without centralization?
Conclusion
Participants in the Round Table on Technology confirmed that Canada has both the expertise and opportunity to lead in geospatial data innovation. They emphasized the importance of discoverability, interoperability, and shared standards as foundational pillars for collaboration and long-term impact. As Canada moves toward a more modern, responsive SDI, success will depend on fostering openness, enabling innovation, and creating a system where high-quality data flows seamlessly across platforms, organizations, and communities.
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