Background

Geodetic control surveying is an area of geodesy that establishes precise reference networks providing high-accuracy reference points over large areas. Geodetic control surveying supports:

  • Mapping
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Property boundary surveys
  • Construction projects
  • Positioning and monitoring of engineering structures such as dams, bridges and highways

We maintain COSINE (Control Survey Information Exchange), Ontario’s geodetic control database.

It provides precise coordinate and elevation information for more than 125,000 horizontal control monuments and vertical benchmarks provided by ministries, federal departments, municipalities, conservation authorities and agencies.

Start using COSINE

Open the COSINE Viewer to access provincial geodetic control.

Geodetic standards and specifications

If you require any of the following documents in a different format, email geodesy@ontario.ca.

Official Horizontal Geodetic Datum: North American Datum of 1983 – Canadian Spatial Reference System (NAD83-CSRS) – Refer to the official GO-IT Standard 541 TES.

Official Vertical Geodetic Datum: Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 (CGVD2013) – Refer to the official GO-IT Standard 544 TES.

Transformation Standards: for moving between horizontal and vertical geodetic datums in Ontario – Refer to the official GO-IT Standard 542 TES.

Ontario specification for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) geodetic control surveys – (2023): the minimum requirements for 2D or 3D GNSS Geodetic Control Surveys for the Province of Ontario, including those projects which will be included in COSINE. Also refer to the official GO-IT Standard 543 TES .

Ontario digital levelling vertical control survey specifications (2021): describes the provincial specifications for digital levelling work performed in Ontario for projects that will be included in COSINE.

Ontario Specifications and Guidelines for Horizontal Control Surveys (1979) (PDF): the minimum requirements that must be met for a conventional (terrestrial) horizontal control survey for the Province of Ontario, or for projects that will be included in COSINE

We’ve adopted new modern geodetic datums to ensure our GIS systems, derived map products, positions and elevation data remain accurate and compatible with national standards and are ready for future revisions. Further information will be available in 2026 regarding the new official datums for Ontario in electronic and hardcopy forms for the broader geomatics community of Ontario.

Get advice

We provide advice on:

  • horizontal and vertical control surveys
  • horizontal and vertical geodetic datums, including the new official horizontal and vertical datums of Ontario
  • technologies for positioning applications such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including Global Positioning System (GPS)
  • geodetic datum and coordinate transformations
  • geodetic data
  • Ontario High Precision Network (OHPN) – A densification of the Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS) in Ontario based on the Canadian Base Network (CBN)

For advice, contact us at geodesy@ontario.ca.