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Basemap updates for Canada — January 2018

The new year begins with topographic and imagery basemap updates for 19 communities across the country. Find out which ones.

The new year begins with an update of the topographic and the imagery basemaps on ArcGIS Online for 19 communities across the country. Changes to the topographic raster basemap include updates for the following 11 communities:

  • Edmonton, AB
  • Kamloops, BC
  • Montréal, QC
  • Nanaimo, BC
  • Oakville, ON
  • Sunshine Coast, BC
  • Surrey, BC
  • Toronto, ON
  • West Kelowna, BC
  • Yellowknife, NT
  • York University, Toronto, ON

The updated topographic basemap (right) for Oakville, ON compared to the old basemap (left). New roads and buildings are now reflected on the map.

Changes to the imagery basemap include updates for the following seven communities:

  • Brampton, ON
  • Cochrane, AB
  • Coquitlam, BC
  • Kitchener, ON
  • Lethbridge, AB
  • Stony Plain, AB
  • Waterloo, ON

New imagery (10 cm from 2017) for Brampton, ON on the right compared to old imagery (10 cm from 2016) on the left.

Changes to the vector basemaps include updates for the following contributors:

  • Ottawa, ON
  • Montréal, QC
  • West Kelowna, BC
  • Yellowknife, NT

These changes will appear in all the vector tile basemaps available on ArcGIS Online, including the topographic, street map and the National Geographic basemaps. These communities join a growing list of Canadian contributors to the vector tile basemaps.

About the Author

Paul Heersink is a cartographer and Program Manager of Esri Canada’s Roads & Addresses Program: an initiative that is aiming to build a seamless topographic basemap using contributor data. He has over 25 years of cartographic experience, working in both the public and private sectors. Paul has always been interested in mapping and drew his own atlas at the age of 10. He took a detour in his career through the fields of psychology and social work before returning to cartography.

Profile Photo of Paul Heersink