Skip to main content

Basemap updates for Canada — February 2018

The imagery and vector tile basemaps were updated in February with more Canadian content. Find out what’s new.

ArcGIS Online has been hosting vector tile basemaps for some time now. Vector tile basemaps are faster to create and draw than raster basemaps. Where raster basemaps require the caching of separate maps for each style, vector tile basemaps all draw upon the same source, allowing for any number of map styles to be used while only having to cache once.

There are now 18 Canadian contributors who have their data included in the current vector tile basemaps, including the federal government and two provinces. More contributors are being added each month. Keep checking back to the blog for updates.

Canadian vector tile basemap contributors are:

  • Airdrie
  • Canada
  • Fredericton
  • Haldimand
  • Kamloops
  • Montreal
  • Nanaimo
  • New Brunswick
  • New Westminster
  • Oakville
  • Ontario
  • Ottawa
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Surrey
  • Toronto
  • West Kelowna
  • Winnipeg
  • Yellowknife

Old version of the topographic version of the vector tile basemap on the left; updated version on the right, using contributor data from New Westminster, BC.

As well as the vector tile basemap updates, three contributors had their imagery added to the imagery basemap this month. They include Brantford, ON (5 cm, 2017), Halton Region, ON (10 cm, 2015) and Huron County (20 cm, 2014).

10 cm imagery of Brantford, ON from 2013 (left) updated with 5 cm imagery from 2017 (right).

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