Who We Are and What We Do

The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) has strong historical roots, important modern responsibilities and clear future plans that will enable us to rise to the challenge of meeting evolving Canadian priorities.

The creation of a national weather service in 1871 was one of the early acts of the new Government of Canada. That decision recognized the importance of weather information for Canadians as well as the scientific tools that were becoming available. Over time, the scope of this work grew. For example, water survey activities were first officially recognized in 1908, later followed by the provision of weather information for aviation purposes.

Today, our MSC is a Departmental Service Organization within Environment Canada that:

provides weather forecasts and warnings of high-impact weather events and, together with the provinces, produces information on hazardous air quality;
monitors atmospheric conditions and the quantity of water in Canadian lakes and rivers;
forecasts ice and wave conditions on navigable oceans and inland waters;
monitors and predicts the state of the climate;
leads the development of atmospheric science and related environmental prediction in Canada;
is at the source of every weather warning in Canada; and,
is the principal scientific authority for standards, information and advice on the past, present and future states of the atmosphere, hydrosphere (lakes, rivers and oceans) and cryosphere (snow and ice).

MSC Matrix Organization

The MSC mission statement is a summary of our work:

"Helping Canadians adapt to the influences and impacts of atmospheric and related environmental conditions on human health and safety, economic prosperity and environmental quality."

The MSC has many facets:

Approximately 1 900 staff members, many of whom are specialized scientific and technical workers. Many work round-the-clock shifts on land and at sea in locations across Canada, including the High Arctic, to monitor and predict weather, to measure water levels of major lakes and rivers and to compute river flow quantities. Our dedicated staff is the primary reason the MSC is recognized internationally for world-class weather prediction services and excellence in atmospheric science research.
One of the most sophisticated weather and hydrometric services in the world, with a $310 million technological infrastructure that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This infrastructure includes everything from traditional tools, such as rain gauges and thermometers, to state-of-the art supercomputers, Doppler current meters and satellite receivers.
A research laboratory and a large component of the MSC’s national headquarters located in Toronto.

Doppler Radar
Weather centres in MSC’s five regions, which provide weather forecasts and warnings.
Other offices across Canada, which provide specialized client services, conduct research and maintain the extensive monitoring network.
The Canadian Ice Service, located in Ottawa, that conducts ice surveillance and forecasting for the Arctic, the Eastern Canadian seaboard, the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes and maintains the national archive of sea ice, lake ice and iceberg information.
The Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) in Montreal, which is the hub of national telecommunications, weather-modelling and emergency response services. The CMC’s computers handle about three trillion bytes of data per day. It has one of the fastest scientific supercomputers in the world, which supports forecast production, weather research and climate, air quality and emergency response modelling activities.
The MSC’s archives, which store more than 100 years of climate data, representing seven billion observations. The data are used by researchers, the media and clients such as insurance and law firms and weather-sensitive industries such as construction, transportation, energy, agriculture and forestry.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, that is part of the Maritimes Weather Centre. The CHC gathers information on tropical and post-tropical cyclones, predicts the evolution of these storms and assesses and forecasts their potential impacts on Canadian territory. The Centre’s area of forecast responsibility covers all Canadian territory, including Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces and all Canadian waters out to the 200 nautical mile limit.
The Water Survey of Canada and its partners, which compute river flow and record the levels of lakes and rivers at more than 3 100 locations in Canada. Historical records from 7 700 sites estimate streamflow at ungauged locations. Our hydrometric network is being modernized to, among other things, better assist the provinces in flood prediction and prevention and provide a more comprehensive and accurate inventory of Canada’s fresh water resources.