Geographical Names Board Of Canada
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The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.


History

It was created in December 1897, by Order in Council, as the Geographic Board of Canada. It consisted of one Board member from each of four Government of Canada departments, as well as the Surveyor General of Dominion Lands, while a secretariat was provided by the then-extant Department of the Interior. In December 1899, the Order in Council was amended to give the Canadian provinces and territories the right to nominate one official, each, to be a Board member. The board was succeeded by the Canadian Board on Geographic Names in 1948, then reorganized as the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names (CPCGN) in 1961.


Structure

, the Board consists of 27 members, one from each of the provinces and territories, and others from departments of the Government of Canada. The board also is involved with names of areas in the Antarctic through the Antarctic Treaty. The secretariat is provided by Natural Resources Canada. In addition to the provincial and territorial members are members from the following federal government departments: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada,
Canada Post Corporation Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary Postal administration, postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office ...
, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Elections Canada, Library and Archives Canada, Department of National Defence, Natural Resources Canada (including Geological Survey of Canada and Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation), Parks Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Translation Bureau. The Chair of the Geographical Names Board of Canada is Connie Wyatt Anderson from The Pas,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
.


Process

In a two year period of 2019–2020, 750 names were added to the database with roughly 100 changes to names of already existing places. Citizens and government officials have the ability to write in with a form that is able to be filled out. The local naming authority then becomes involved on the place in question gathering suggestions from the local and indigenous communities. This can include the revival of indigenous names, notable examples include qathet, Haida Gwaii, and the Salish Sea. Provincial governments have also taken liberty to change names, including Nunavut, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. Certain laws may apply such as for regional districts which typically have to include a distinguish geographic feature of the area in its name.


See also

*
Federal Information Processing Standard The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military United Stat ...
* GeoBase *
Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...
* GPS·C


External links


Canadian Geographical Names
at Natural Resources Canada


References

1897 establishments in Canada Federal departments and agencies of Canada Geocodes Government agencies established in 1897 Names of places in Canada Natural Resources Canada Geographical naming agencies {{Canada-gov-stub