Canada Must Leverage Its Geospatial Legacy to Embrace New Opportunities

How times have changed. Canada’s critical geospatial ecosystem is at a pivotal moment. For decades, our close ties with the United States have offered important strategic advantages—access to cutting-edge technologies, expansive markets, and valuable partnerships. Yet, as global political and economic dynamics continue to shift, this long-standing reliance may now present new challenges that require careful consideration.

As trade conflicts and geopolitical upheavals challenge old assumptions, Canada must leverage its geospatial legacy to embrace new global opportunities.

Leveraging Canada’s Geospatial Foundations

Canada’s contributions to the global geospatial/geomatics sector are foundational. It all began with Roger Tomlinson, widely known as the “father of GIS,” revolutionizing our understanding of geography and location, when he created the world’s first computerized GIS, the Canada Geographic Information System (CGIS), for the Canadian government in 1960s. This laid the cornerstone for how spatial data is analyzed today. Notably, Esri Founder Jack Dangermond worked with Tomlinson before being part of the Harvard research group that created the world’s first commercial GIS. Esri’s software, now the most widely used GIS software in the world, is based on Tomlinson’s work in Canada.

Canadians can also mark other foundational innovations and endeavours underpinning what some call the 4^th Industrial Revolution.

1970 – Launch of Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS): Under the leadership of Larry Morley, CCRS (now CCMEO) became a global leader in satellite image analysis and interpretation.
1972 – Prince Albert Satellite Receiving Station: As the first satellite receiving station in Canada, the station has been pivotal in receiving and processing satellite data.
1994 – National Atlas of Canada goes online: One of the first national atlases to go online, setting a global standard for digital atlases.
1995 – Launch of RADARSAT: In partnership with MDA, the Canadian Space Agency launched the world’s first commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, enabling unprecedented Earth Observation capabilities during day and night and in adverse weather conditions. RADARSAT-2 (2007) and the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (2019) followed, providing daily, all-weather global coverage.
2014-2016 – Contribution to Sentinel-1: Canada’s SAR expertise contributed to European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1, particularly on radar data processing and utilization.
2017 – Greenhouse Gas Monitoring: GHGSat launched the first satellite dedicated to monitoring industrial greenhouse gas emissions, and currently has a fleet of 12 satellites providing best-in-class, real-time emissions data.

These innovations are the bedrock of the global geospatial ecosystem.

We even coined the term “geomatics” in the late 1980s to describe the integration of surveying, cartography, geodesy, and remote sensing, which has since been adopted globally.

Expanding Beyond the Traditional

While Canada’s partnership with the U.S. has largely been beneficial, the increasingly unpredictable geopolitical realities now make it risky.

Europe: Canada’s expertise aligns well with Europe’s focus on sustainability and data-sharing initiatives. Our unique position as the only non-European country in ESA offers an advantage to strengthen partnerships in space and EO. There are other opportunities to collaborate on innovations like building information modeling (BIM) and digital twins with the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, and others. Europe is also facing similar challenges in terms of geopolitical realignments, and rethinking partnerships. In this context, Canada could become a natural and strategic choice for collaboration.
Asia: Asia’s rapid infrastructure development and increasing demand for geospatial data present opportunities for Canada. Countries like Singapore, with their focus on smart city solutions and digital twin technologies, offer exciting collaboration opportunities, while Japan, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia are advancing geospatial innovation in construction, agriculture, and disaster management. From a supply chain perspective, China remains an important option as well.
Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East: These markets are investing in technologies for engineering, urban planning, resource management and climate change applications. The Middle East, in particular, with its financial resources and rapidly developing infrastructure, offers a promising market for Canadian service providers.

Embracing Homegrown Innovation

Canada’s marketplace is conservative, with a preference for established players and tried-and-tested solutions. This mindset might need to change now.

Sovereign Data Infrastructure: Canada must prioritize the creation of a sovereign data infrastructure to protect our digital assets and ensure control over critical geospatial data. This infrastructure is essential for maintaining privacy, security, and innovation while supporting a thriving data economy.
Government Support: Just as past government initiatives helped establish institutions like the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, and the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure, we need continued investment in R&D, tax incentives for startups, and funding for high-risk projects to support new innovations.
Local Talent: Canada’s world-class educational programs, including the Center of Geographic Sciences (COGS), British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), University of Calgary (U of C), University of New Brunswick (UNB), l’Université de Sherbrooke, Carleton, Laval University, and others produce top-tier geospatial talent. Our diverse workforce is sourced from around the world. This blend of local knowledge, national land and water satellite applications and global insight strengthens Canada’s position as a leader in geospatial innovation.
Public-private partnerships (PPP): PPPs are essential to drive innovation and enable the development of cutting-edge technologies and the delivery of critical projects. The RADARSAT program is a perfect example of how PPPs can successfully advance geospatial technology and contribute to national development efforts.

To remain competitive, Canadian companies must take calculated risks, explore new technologies, and partner with startups to develop solutions domestically. Success stories like WSP, MDA, and GHGSat prove that with the right ecosystem, local innovation can thrive globally, this momentum must be leveraged to build a more resilient and diversified geospatial sector.

The challenges of today are unlikely to disappear anytime soon. We must view these challenges as opportunities. Innovation and entrepreneurship inherently carry risks, but these risks are essential for progress. Now is the time, as it was in the past, to cultivate a culture that embraces these risks, supports homegrown and national solutions, and believes in the potential of Canadian talent.