Proposed national atlas of Canada

Canada was among the first countries to produce a national atlas, with its initial edition published in 1906 and a revised and enlarged second edition in 1916. This article outlines a plan for a new comprehensive atlas, based on a committee established by the Canadian Social Science Research Council in 1943. Drawing on expert consultations and analyses of other national atlases, the author proposes a content framework grounded in specialized research, emphasizing the need for government-academic cooperation. The paper also provides a systematic review of federal and provincial mapping agencies and existing cartographic resources, including hydrographic, geological, and topographical surveys, as well as the National Topographic Series, serving as a foundational reference for atlas compilation.