In Canada, names on official, federal government maps have been authorized through the Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC). This national committee, which dates back to 1897, now comprises representatives from each province and territory, and from various federal departments concerned with mapping, translation, statistics, archives, defence, national parks and Indian lands.

A brief history of the GNBC

Geographical names are recognized as an intuitive reference to the country's heritage and, technologically speaking, a fundamental layer in its framework data.

The CGNS (Canadian Geographical Names Service), is a Standards based Web Map/Feature Server that delivers geographical names, authorized by the GNBC, into the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI).

About the CGNS
GNSS Query - search the CGNS