Township Canada for Surveyors and Geomatics Professionals
Native ArcGIS Pro locator, NTS grid for BC mineral claims, batch conversion of any survey system, and an API for internal tools. Built for the Canadian survey systems Esri doesn't ship.
What surveyors do with Township Canada
Cadastral survey work and geomatics across Canada touches every legal land description system - DLS in the Prairies, NTS in BC and the territories, lot/concession in Ontario, river lots in Manitoba, and FPS grid in Quebec. ArcGIS Pro doesn't ship a Canadian legal land description locator. Township Canada is built to fill that gap and a few adjacent ones.
ArcGIS Pro integration
The Township Canada ArcGIS Pro toolbox installs as a standard Python toolbox in arcpy. Three tools:
- Configure API Key (one-time setup)
- Search Legal Land Description - adds DLS/NTS search to the ArcGIS Pro Locate pane (geocode, suggest, reverse geocode)
- Convert Legal Land Descriptions (batch) - takes a table column of legal descriptions, outputs a point feature class + optional boundary polygon feature class
Plus an Experience Builder widget for ArcGIS Online web maps and a Survey123 webhook pipeline via Make.com.
See the full integration guide at learn/industries/arcgis-pro-legal-land-description-locator or the launch blog at ArcGIS Integration.
Mining and exploration claims
BC's mineral tenure system uses NTS cells. /learn/how-to/legal-land-description-for-mining covers the BC Mineral Titles Online (MTO) workflow plus parallel patterns for NWT and Ontario.
For BC NTS specifically: BC NTS Grid References.
Batch conversion across multiple survey systems
Survey contracts that span the DLS-NTS boundary (BC Peace River, BC interior, mixed) need both systems converted in a single pass. The batch converter handles both, flags unparseable rows, exports to CSV / KML / Shapefile / GeoJSON / DXF.
API for internal tools
For survey firms with internal GIS pipelines, the Township Canada API provides programmatic conversion. Build, Scale, and Enterprise tiers cover most volumes.
Which tier fits
- Pro - $20 CAD/mo. Individual surveyor with single-parcel workflow, satellite imagery, PDF export.
- Business - $40 CAD/mo. Survey firm with batch needs, all export formats (Shapefile, KML, DXF, GeoJSON), team management.
- API plans (separate) - $20-$500/mo depending on volume. See API plans.
ArcGIS Pro toolbox use requires an API key - pricing depends on monthly query volume.
Related resources
Other personas
Township Canada for Farmers
Verify SCIC and AFSC quarter sections before filing, map new leases before signing, and pull a full parcel report with LSRS productivity and 5-year crop history.
Township Canada for Farmland Investors
Map portfolios across multiple townships, verify titles against deal paperwork, and use Projects to organize acquisition pipelines.
Township Canada for Ag Retailers and Grain Companies
Map customer parcels across sales territories, route field agronomists efficiently, enrich CRM records via the API, and organize prospect lists in Projects.
Township Canada for Oil and Gas Operators
AER wells with lifecycle status, pipelines, facilities, treaty overlay, and operator history snapshots - all on the DLS grid alongside batch conversion and API access.
Township Canada for CCS and Geothermal Developers
Pore space tenure boundaries, CCS project boundaries, injection wells, and geothermal tenure on the DLS grid - built for Alberta carbon capture and geothermal evaluation.
Township Canada for Crop Insurance Adjusters
Verify SCIC and AFSC quarter sections before submission, batch-convert claim portfolios, and map damage zones for hail and storm events.