Canada’s progress on Building Information Modelling (BIM) standardization and alignment with other spatial technologies has been steadily improving through the work of organization like buildingSMART Canada. Helping to lead this change is John Hale, the President of buildingSMART Canada and Chief of BIM/GIS at the Department of National Defence.

In his recent discussion Bridging Reality and Digital, shared at GeoIgnite 2025, Hale discussed buildingSMART Canada’s role in advancing interoperability across infrastructure and geospatial domains. Hale’s message emphasized the need for a framework aligning BIM with geospatial systems and digital twins for smarter planning, asset management and decision-making.

We caught up with Hale after his presentation to discuss interoperability, Canada’s place in this evolving landscape and the steps required for integration and standardization of these technologies.

Excerpts:

I understand that Canada does not currently have a BIM standard. How do we compare to the rest of the world?

BIM is relatively new – it’s something I have been personally involved with at the Department of National Defence (DND). At DND, BIM was initially viewed as a tool for managing design and construction. We sought to develop an efficient, model-based procedure for managing the over 22,000 buildings owned by DND. As DND spends more than $3 billion per year on construction capital programs, our hope is that BIM will lead us to create better buildings. BIM is an important tool for managing data related to building function and the operational life cycle.

Additionally, by using BIM as a data source and model, you can leverage the geospatial community to perform analyses on assets, building operations, and tasks such as equipment movement.

Where do BIM standards fit into this equation?

There are currently international data standards for BIM — consider buildingSMART International, a global open standards organization in which buildingSMART Canada is a member. Since DND is a member of buildingSMART Canada, we work with these groups to apply international standards in the Canadian context, which have been evolving over the last 20 years.

Recently, there has been the introduction of ISO 19650 standards, which sets guidelines for constructing BIM and running assets. These standards are powerful, because they helps us introduce the idea of geo into BIM, placing us us on a more even playing field with respect to construction and asset management. Since international standards tend to be fairly high level, we need to find a way to make them work in the Canadian context. BIM has evolved to the point where it need open processes and information exchange to be successful. We are setting the stage for Canada through the adoption of ISO 19650, which is why conferences such as GeoIgnite are so important. We want to find a way to take Canada to the next level on the global stage.

Would you say Canada is on track to reach this next level?

Although we are behind, we are rapidly catching up. The ISO 19650 framework was established in the United Kingdom during the 2010’s as part of country’s strategy to “go digital” and implement model-based design and construction. Unfortunately, early adopters didn’t consider integrating geospatial (geo) information into these standards, so the global community has been working to understand how GIS and BIM standards work together. It’s important to understand how these standards support the design sector and how digital twins and their associated datasets fit into the future of a digital economy and digital world.

Which sectors in Canada are leading this BIM/GIS integration? Is it industry or government?

Government is not a leader, although it is a key player. We are starting to become more involved with BIM/GIS integration. I want to highlight the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), which has been working to understand the integration of BIM and GIS within the context of carbon reduction. The NRC considers BIM to be an important element of carbon reduction and recognizes the role GIS plays in this space. Specifically, their work involves carbon reduction techniques such as life cycle carbon tracking, embodied carbon and decarbonization of the construction industry at scale.

The NRC has become a leader in the last couple of years with plans to update the National Building Code and the National Master Investigation System, while also developing a platform for modelling and tracking carbon – all of which will involve a geo component. We should expect to see some progress by 2029. This will be a tipping point in the move towards a more digital economy.

I also have to mention the construction sector. They are highly advanced in their thinking regarding BIM and GIS and have become a major leader in the field.

With Canada having different and often complex jurisdictions, how are these standards handled? Are there provincial/territorial standards, federal standards or both?

These standards are complicated due to the way our government is structured. We have often thought that a BIM mandate would be important — especially in terms of integrating BIM and GIS — but we have realized it will require a federated approach. We have to consider working with the federal government, provinces and territories, and municipalities. It’s important that any decision is made through a committee. At buildingSMART Canada we have recognized the need for having different levels of government and stakeholders involved in this process, and we are actively working towards developing a proper mandate.

As I said about the NRC, it is important to have governmental bodies willing to take the lead throughout different sectors, as each have unique requirements. In this context, NRC is acting as a regulator. For this process to be successful, voices must come from many places. There are already some jurisdictions that have taken the lead on integration – British Columbia is very prominent; Quebec and Ontario are active as well.

What is the status of digital twin adoption in Canada? Do we also need a mandate?

Lack of definition — we really need clear definition. There are several groups working in this space, but “digital twins” has become a real buzzword in the industry. There are lots of software developers and services providers looking for the next trendy AI digital twin. We have a working group we’ve been building called the National Canadian Committee for Canada’s Built Environment. It’s an informal group now, but we are trying to formalize it to ensure the right players are involved in setting direction for digital twins. Presently, the Open Geospatial Consortium, buildingSMART Canada and some federal organizations are members of the group, which is growing rapidly.

How important is public/private collaboration for establishing these standards?

Fundamental — it’s really fundamental. Working as a defence organization, we are obligated to follow open procurement procedures and work alongside industry. In our role, it’s difficult for us to set the direction of innovation. This is why it is important for us to have the voice of industry in these discussions. There’s also a role for academia, as they help to set the direction and provide thought leadership. It’s challenging to implement new technologies at scale.