Some elements in the development of the national atlas of Canada

Summary

This paper examines the initial planning and conceptualization of Canada’s first bilingual national atlas, commissioned by the Federal Government in 1948 and produced by the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. The study traces the institutional context that gave rise to the project, noting that earlier editions from 1906 and 1915 existed only in English and lacked documentation, effectively making this a wholly new undertaking. Because numerous government agencies possessed cartographic data or mapping capabilities, an interdepartmental Atlas Committee was formed to provide guidance. Through analysis of committee deliberations, the paper reveals how fundamental design parameters were established: the atlas’s educational and reference purposes, the sheet size and basic scales, and the decision to adopt a systematic (topical) or regional geographic approach, or both. Considerable attention was given to the bilingual character of Canada, and the committee ultimately resolved that the new atlas should be published in both English and French. The paper shows that while the committee shaped policy and direction, the actual execution—compilation, layout, design, drafting, and liaison with the printer—was vested solely in the Geographical Branch. By detailing these early strategic decisions, the study illuminates how a federal mapping agency negotiated institutional collaboration, linguistic duality, and scholarly tradition to lay the foundation for a landmark national atlas.