This group of maps, which includes the CanMatrix and CanTopo collections, is now a legacy product that is no longer maintained. It may not meet current government standards.
Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) topographic raster maps provide a representation of the topographic phenomena of the Canadian landmass.
Several editions of paper maps have been produced over time in order to offer improved products compared to their predecessors in terms of quality and the most up to date information possible. The georeferenced maps can be used in a Geographic Information System (GIS). In all cases, they accurately represent the topographical data available for the date indicated (validity date). The combination of CanMatrix and CanTopo data provides complete national coverage.
• CanMatrix - Print Ready: Raster maps produced by scanning topographic maps at scales from 1:25 000 to 1:1 000 000. This product is not georeferenced.
Validity dates: 1944 to 2005 (1980 on average).
Available formats: PDF and TIFF
• CanMatrix - Georeferenced: Raster maps produced by scanning topographic maps at scales of 1:50 000 and 1:250 000. These maps are georeferenced according to the 1983 North American Reference System (NAD 83).
Validity dates: 1944 to 2005 (1980 on average).
Available format: GeoTIFF
• CanTopo: Digital raster maps produced mainly from the GeoBase initiative, NRCan digital topographic data, and other sources. Approximately 2,234 datasets (maps) at scale of 1:50 000, primarily covering northern Canada, are available. CanTopo datasets in GeoPDF and GeoTIFF format are georeferenced according to the 1983 North American Reference System (NAD 83).
Validity dates: 1946 to 2012 (2007 on average).
Available formats: PDF, GeoPDF, TIFF and GeoTIFF