Land Information Ontario
How to find, access and share geographic data.
Overview
Land Information Ontario (LIO) helps public and private organizations and individuals find, access and share geographic data. Land Information Ontario also coordinates the collection of aerial photography for Ontario. Geographic information distributed by Land Information Ontario includes information on Ontario’s:
- roads, railways and trails
- lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands
- elevation
- official names and boundaries
- management and classification information
How to find and access data
Find Ontario’s authoritative geospatial data using Ontario GeoHub. Ontario GeoHub provides descriptive information about the characteristics, quality and context of the data. Ontario GeoHub has options to download the data or use a web service in geospatial software.
Search the full catalogue using the Find Data search tool, or browse the available topics. Filter by tags or search for a specific tag. Once you have selected a data product, you can:
- read the description or view all metadata
- view geometry and attribute information in the interactive map
- download the data
- connect to a web service.
Display the data in table format to view and filter information.
With the interactive map, you can:
- pan and zoom
- click on features and view attribute information
- download a subset of the data.
Sharing data
Who can share data
Public organizations can easily share data with other organizations by becoming a member of the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange. The Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange allows organizations to share geographic data about Ontario through a single agreement administered by Land Information Ontario.
There is no cost associated with joining.
You can join the Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange if you are a member of a:
- municipal, provincial or federal government
- Indigenous community
- conservation authority
- public health unit
- non-profit organization
- college or university
- public utility
Ontario Imagery
Aerial photography of the earth’s surface is known as imagery. Land Information Ontario’s Ontario Imagery Strategy ensures a long-term, affordable approach for public and private sector organizations to capture and maintain high-resolution imagery for Ontario. The imagery captured of Ontario is ortho-rectified, which means the image is georeferenced and its scale is uniform across the whole image, so it can be used in similar ways to a map.
Land Information Ontario coordinates access to Ontario Imagery data by:
- developing and managing partnerships
- overseeing imagery acquisition contracts
- distributing imagery data to partners
Ontario runs several strategic programs that provide access to:
- leaf-off, high-resolution aerial photography on a five-year cycle for southern Ontario and parts of the near north
- cloud-free satellite imagery of the Far North and other parts of the province as needed
- leaf-on aerial photography for the mid-north on a ten-year cycle as part of the Forest Resources Inventory program, managed by the ministry
- high-resolution elevation data such as lidar Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) acquisitions
Leaf-on and leaf-off aerial photography captures images of leaves on trees and leaves not on trees respectively.
Become a partner
Only organizations that contribute to the Ontario Imagery Strategy are considered partners.
Partners can access high quality, current, geographically referenced imagery data for:
- mapping
- asset management
- land use planning
- emergency management
To find out more about the Ontario Imagery partnership or purchasing imagery, email imagery@ontario.ca for a detailed information package.
Access to imagery
Current partners can order imagery based on their participant agreement at any time.
Non-partners can access imagery products at a rate of $50/km2.
To order Land Information Ontario imagery email: imageryorders@ontario.ca.
Search for a specific imagery data set metadata at Ontario GeoHub.
Figure 1. LIO Imagery acquisitions for the five year period of 2018-2022.
Current imagery project
North-west Ontario Orthophotography 2022 project
The North-west Ontario Orthophotography Project will acquire imagery that is:
- 20 cm resolution
- leaf-off
- multi-spectral
- accurate to approximately 60 cm "on the ground"
- from the spring of 2022
Partners will have access to all products, including:
- orthophotography
- stereo data
- digital surface models
Information delivery is expected for early 2023.
Email imagery@ontario.ca for information.
Figure 2. General project target area for North-west Ontario Orthophotography 2022, to be refined
Enlarge Figure 2. General project target area for North-west Ontario Orthophotography 2022
Contact
If you need help, contact Land Information Ontario for support by email at lio@ontario.ca.
For telephone, you can contact
You can also mail Land Information Ontario support at:
LIO Support
Land Information Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
2nd Floor, North Tower
300 Water St
PO Box 7000
Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5