Canadian Geomatics, Geospatial, Earth Observation and Geography Related Associations or Groups

What follows are a list of geomatics, remote sensing, earth observation, surveying, GIS, geospatial, and geography related groups that you can join as an individual.  If your organisation is not listed or you wish to make a correction to the information please get in touch using our contact form.
Last updated: MAR 2024

GoGeomatics Canada

Operates: Nationally
Established: 2006
GoGeomatics Canada is a community driven effort to promote and organize the geospatial community from the grassroots. We consist of 8 geospatial networking groups in cities across Canada. To date, we have hosted 300+ geospatial networking events across the country.  On the magazine, 100+ Canadian geomatics organizations post their jobs, news, and events. We have published over 2,000+ Canadian geomatics article, and our Canadian Spatial Times newsletter has 5,000+ subscribers. GoGeomatics Canada is the most popular magazine in Canada’s geospatial sector for geospatial news, events, jobs, community engagement, and communications.
Website: www.gogeomatics.ca

Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1911
To promote the knowledge, skill and proficiency of technicians and technologists involved in the field of surveying and mapping.
Cost for regular membership: $1,700/year
Website: https://www.alsa.ab.ca/
Email contact: info@alsa.ab.ca

Alberta Society of Surveying and Mapping Technologies (ASSMT)

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1970
To promote the knowledge, skill and proficiency of technicians and technologists involved in the field of surveying and mapping.
Cost for regular membership: $50/year
Cost for student membership: Free
Website: http://www.assmt.ca
Email contact: info@assmt.ca

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)

Operates: Internationally
Established: 1934
The mission of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing is to promote the ethical application of active and passive sensors, the disciplines of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and other supporting geospatial technologies; to advance the understanding of the geospatial and related sciences; to expand public awareness of the profession; and to promote a balanced representation of the interests of government, academia, and private enterprise.
Cost for regular membership: $175 USD/year
Cost for student membership: $50 USD/year
Website: https://www.asprs.org
Email contact: asprs@asprs.org

Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1985
The ACLS is not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that governs the activities of its members in the field of cadastral (boundary or legal) surveying.
Regular: $370.
Student: $150
Website: https://www.acls-aatc.ca
Email contact: Jenny Cooper <communications@acls-aatc.ca>jctetreault@acls-aatc.ca

Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1967
ACMLA actively serves as the representative professional group for Canadian map librarians, cartographic archivists and others interested in geographic information in all formats.
Cost for regular membership: $65/year
Cost for student membership: $20/year
Website: https://acmla-acacc.ca/
Email contact: president@acmla-acacc.ca

Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (AOLS)

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1892
A self-governing association, responsible for the licensing and governance of professional land surveyors, in accordance with the Surveyors Act.
Cost for associate membership: $244.80 + HST/year
Website: http://www.aols.org/
Email contact: ajeraj@aols.org

buildingSMART Canada (bSC)

Operates: Nationally & Regionally
bSC Individual Members are interested on being informed on the development of BIM and participating in a professional association offering opportunity to gain knowledge and engage BIM domain expertise through support of the organization.
Cost for regular membership: $200/year
Website: https://buildingsmartcanada.ca
Email contact: Bill Moore bmoore@buildingsmartcanada.ca

Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1962
CASI is a not-for-profit scientific and technical organization devoted to the advancement of the art, science engineering and applications relating to aeronautics, astronautics, and associated technologies and their applications.
Cost for regular membership: $90/year
Cost for student membership: $35/year
Website: http://www.casi.ca
Email contact: casi@casi.ca

Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians (CACPT)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1978
CACPT is a non-profit, self- governing body dedicated to maintaining high standards for Planning Technicians and other related planning professionals.
Cost for regular membership: $215/year
Cost for student membership: $40/year
Website: http://cacpt.org
Email contact: assistant@cacpt.org

Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1951
The Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) is committed to the dissemination of geographic research and the promotion of geography as a key discipline in education, research, and in the public and private sectors nationally and internationally.
Cost for regular membership: $150/year
Cost for student membership: $50/year
Website: https://www.cag-acg.ca/
Email contact: info@cag-acg.ca

Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1972
CCTT establishes and maintains national competency standards for certifying members in the following 14 applied science and engineering technology disciplines: bioscience, industrial, building, instrumentation, chemical, mechanical, civil, mining, electrical, petroleum, electronics, geomatics, forestry, and information technology.
Website: https://www.cctt.ca
Email contact: cctt@cctt.ca

Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1882
The Canadian Institute of Geomatics is the Canadian Not-for-Profit association that represents the interests of all groups in the geomatics community.
Cost for regular membership: $140/year
Cost for student membership: $50/year
Website: http://www.cig-acsg.ca
Email contact: President@cig-acsg.ca

Canadian Remote Sensing Society (CRSS)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1971
The CRSS is a fully independent, not-for-profit professional society that provides a focal point for leadership and excellence to advance the remote sensing field.
Cost for regular membership: $50/year
Cost for student membership: $25/year
Website: https://crss-sct.ca/
Email contact: info@crss-sct.ca

Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA)

Operates: Internationally
Established: 1982
To educate, connect and advocate for the geospatial community.
Cost for regular membership: $55/year
Website: http://www.gita.org
Email contact: admin@gita.org

GeoSpatial Niagara

Operates: Regionally
Established: 2014
Geospatial Niagara is dedicated to educational opportunities that foster economic prosperity through community-minded projects. We are a not-for-profit organization that strives to provide the very best in geographic education, geospatial technology support and skilled resources to educators, students and the public alike throughout Niagara, and all of our partners beyond.
Website: http://www.geospatialniagara.com
Email contact: geospatialniagara@gmail.com

L’Association québécoise de télédétection (L’AQT)

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1975
L’Association québécoise de télédétection est le catalyseur des applications, des services et de la recherche en observation de la Terre au Québec.
Cost for regular membership: $20/year
Cost for student membership: $10/year
Website: https://laqt.ca/
Email contact: info@laqt.ca

Manitoba GIS User Group

Operates: Regionally
To facilitate communication amongst the geomatics (GIS, GPS, surveying and remote sensing) community in Manitoba.
Website: http://mgug.ca/
Email contact: info@mgug.ca

NACIS – North American Cartographic Information Society

Operates: Internationally
Established: 1980
The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) is an enjoyable society of map enthusiasts. Has yearly meetings, an online discussion forum, and works on a variety of projects and publications which promote map making.
Cost for regular membership: $50/year
Cost for student membership: $20/year
Website: http://nacis.org
Email contact: info@nacis.org

Ontario Association of for Geographic and Environmental Education (OAGEE)

Operates: Regionally
Ontario Association for Geographic and Environmental Education.
Cost for regular membership: $35/year
Website: http://oagee.org
Email contact: contactus@oagee.org

OSGeo

Operates: Internationally
OSGeo local chapters provide a venue to support local users and developers, as well as a mechanism to further OSGeo’s mission and goals in a linguistic, or geographic area.
Website: http://www.osgeo.org
Email contact: info@osgeo.org

The Canadian Building Information Management Council (CanBIM)

Operates: Nationally
The Canada BIM Council serves as Canada’s business voice for the entire construction industry, education community and owners who are working collectively with Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies and practices.
Cost for regular membership: $175/year
Cost for student membership: $175/year
Website: http://www.canbim.com
Email contact: glattmann@canbim.com

The Canadian Cartographic Association

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1975
Promoting interest in maps and related cartographic materials. Furthering the understanding and knowledge of maps by encouraging research in the field of cartography, both historical and current.
Cost for regular membership: $90/year
Cost for student membership: $10/year
Website: http://cca-acc.org/
Email contact: president@cca-acc.org

The Canadian Hydrographic Association (CHA)

Operates: Nationally
A non-profit, scientific and technical group of more than 200 members with the objective of advancing the development of hydrography, marine cartography and associated activities in Canada.
Cost for regular membership: $30/year
Cost for student membership: $10/year
Website: https://hydrography.ca/
Email contact: Richard.Sanfacon@hydrography.ca

The Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia (GANS)

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1989
GANS fosters geomatics within all sectors of the Nova Scotia economy through a collaboration among a broad membership representing the public and private sector.
Cost for regular membership: $75/year
Cost for student membership: Free
Website: http://gans.ca/
Email contact: info@gans.ca

The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT)

Operates: Regionally
Established: 1962
The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) is a non-profit, self-governing, professional association of over 25,000 members.
Cost for regular membership: $344.65/year
Cost for student membership: $79.10/year
Website: https://www.oacett.org
Email contact: info@oacett.org

The Open Geosptial Consortium

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1994
To advance the development and use of international standards and supporting services that promote geospatial interoperability. To accomplish this mission, OGC serves as the global forum for the collaboration of geospatial data / solution providers and users.
Cost for regular membership: $1,500/year
Website: http://www.opengeospatial.org/
Email contact: info@ogc.org

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS)

Operates: Nationally
Established: 1929
The Society is active in building, promoting and supporting geographic education throughout the country, through its educational program, Canadian Geographic Education.
The Fellows Committee solicits nominations from Fellows and other sources.
Website: http://www.rcgs.org
Email contact: geiger@rcgs.org

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) Alberta

Operates: Regionally
Promote the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related Information Systems within Alberta.
Cost for regular membership: $30/year
Cost for student membership: $20/year
Website: http://www.urisab.org/
Email contact: treasurer@urisab.org

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) British Columbia

Operates: Regionally
URISA BC, as a chapter of the Urban Regional Information Systems Association, is committed to fulfilling the role of a professional association which brings together all parties active and interested in the deployment of Information Technology within the public sector, to promote common interests and co-operation, in order to better serve the administrative and operational requirements of the communities of British Columbia.
Website: http://www.urisabc.org
Email contact: info@urisabc.org

OntarioBeSpatial / URISA Ontario

Operates: Regionally
URISA is a powerful organization comprising individuals, businesses, and government agencies working together to discuss, develop, and provide solutions in the field of spatial information technologies.
Cost for regular membership: $100/year
Cost for student membership: $30/year
Website: https://www.bespatialontario.ca
Email contact: urisaoc@sympatico.ca

The Vancouver GIS Users Group

Operates: Regionally
Formed to facilitate communication between people working in all areas of GIS, the users group meets to allow its members to learn more about current activities and technologies within the industry and to network with their peers. Due to COVID, their activity may be quieter than usual.
Website: http://www.vancouvergis.org/
Email contact: doug.hrynyk@hotmail.com

Women In Geospatial+

Operates: Internationally
Established: 2020
They are a professional network with the aim of promoting gender-equality in the geospatial industry and academia. They believe in changing the status quo by creating a strong network of Women in Geospatial+ leaders and changemakers.
Website: https://www.womeningeospatial.org/
Email contact: womeningeospatial@gmail.com

Unmanned System Canada

Operates: Nationally
Established: 2003
To represent the interests of the unmanned vehicle systems community which includes industry, academia, government, military, and other interested persons.
Website: https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com
Email contact: admin@unmannedsystems.ca