Canada's National Atlas Program in The Computer Era

Summary

Canada's National Atlas Program has historically aimed to provide a timely cartographic synthesis of the country's geography for government administration and public understanding. This paper examines the function, evolving design, and technological transformation of the program in the computer era. Drawing on user needs analysis and cost-benefit considerations, the study identifies four primary user groups: government administrators, researchers, educators, and the public. To meet their diverse information needs, the 5th Edition abandons the traditional bound volume in favor of a dynamic, two-part system: a decennial Canada Gazetteer Atlas and an ongoing Thematic Atlas comprising large-scale data base sheets and interpretive overview sheets. The program emphasizes ready access to factual spatial data, with users free to combine maps for custom analyses. The paper further argues that digital technology, despite high initial investment, is inevitable due to the increasing availability of digital data and user demand for flexible spatial queries. However, cost-effectiveness hinges on designing a data base management system that enables on-demand map production and analysis from an integrated data base, rather than merely automating map drawing. Such an approach is expected to significantly enhance the atlas's utility and justify its continued evolution. The paper concludes that the national atlas function—providing an executive summary of national geography and rapid source reference—is more urgent than ever in the digital age, and Canada's program is being repositioned as a dynamic, digitally-enabled data base to fulfill that role.