On October 17, 2016, Statistics Canada will launch its new crowdsourcing campaign!

The crowdsourcing pilot project will focus on mapping buildings across Canada, starting with Ottawa or Gatineau. Crowdsourcing involves collecting information from a large community of users, relying on the principle that individual citizens are experts within their local environments.

Right now, there are currently no accurate national-level statistics on buildings and their attributes. This project will enable people to pinpoint disasters, water distribution centres, road closures and much more. By providing data about buildings and locations, contributors can support the efforts of first responders, relief organizations and governments.

Help create a free and open source of information on commercial, industrial, government and other buildings in Canada. Using your knowledge of your neighbourhood, along with an online mapping tool called OpenStreetMap, you and other members of the public will be able to input the location, physical attributes and other features of buildings.

To subscribe to a distribution list for periodic updates on the project, send an email at statcan.crowdsource.statcan@canada.ca.