Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Frontenac County

This year the County of Frontenac, along with project partners, acquired LiDAR mapping for the region. This data product is now available to view as topographic contours on the Frontenac Maps interactive mapping site. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that gathers detailed elevation data over a large geographic area and at a level of accuracy that will support efficient and informed decision making.

“The introduction of LiDAR mapping on Frontenac Maps now gives us the most accurate topographic mapping we have ever worked with and it covers all of the lands in Frontenac," says Joe Gallivan, Director of Planning and Economic Development, Frontenac County. "It is a big step forward in helping planners with future development planning and to also help protect our incredible natural environment.”

Highly accurate elevation data derived from LiDAR can be widely used to support municipalities and add value to watershed initiatives. Examples of how LiDAR-derived data products can be used in practice include:

• Supporting future municipal/conservation authority infrastructure and development projects that require topographical information.
• Streamlining local development by providing accurate topographic information at the pre-consultation stage of the planning/regulation and approval process.
• Natural hazard modeling that identifies and helps to mitigate the impact of hazards on infrastructure and urban development.
• Modernization of outdated floodplain studies and prioritizing needs for new floodplain mapping.

LiDAR on Frontenac Maps:

A variety of useful data products can be derived from raw LiDAR datasets. The County GIS Team has chosen to share the LiDAR data on the Frontenac Maps interactive mapping site as elevation contours (1m), as they are recognizable and easily interpreted. To view the elevation contours, simply check the box beside both the Elevation group and the 1m Contour (LiDAR) layer in the layers list (see below). We hope this addition to our data catalogue will be a helpful reference to both staff and members of the public. If you have any questions regarding the dataset, please reach out to frontenacmaps@frontenaccounty.ca.

Note: To maintain loading performance of the mapping site, the contours are only visible at the most useful reference scales. Contours will not appear on the map when zoomed out beyond 1:70,000, or in beyond 1:500.

Background & Funding:

In 2020, five Eastern Ontario Conservation Authorities expressed interest in jointly acquiring LiDAR imagery to update and complete coverage throughout their respective watersheds. South Nation Conservation, acting as project manager on behalf of the partnership, issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ) in March 2021. The RFQ was circulated directly to five LiDAR imaging contractors, and it was also posted to an online tendering portal. The contract was awarded to Airborne Imaging Inc. Due to the large extent of the coverage area and a desire to capture the imaging products during leaf-off conditions, the collections took place over multiple years (2021-2023).

In 2021, Frontenac County expressed interest in partnering with the conservation authorities to achieve full coverage for the region and offset the acquisition costs. The County came on board as a 50 percent funding partner for the Frontenac region. The County acquired provincial funding support through both the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Municipal Modernization Fund, as well as federal support through Natural Resources Canada.

Frontenac County Council has proclaimed November 15, 2023 GIS Day in Frontenac County.

Whereas Geography Awareness Week is November 13 – 17, 2023;

And Whereas International Geographic Information System (GIS) Day is November 15, 2023;

And Whereas Geography Awareness Week promotes GIS and geographic literacy;

And Whereas GIS is an important part of geography awareness;

And Whereas the County of Frontenac is committed to expanding GIS awareness throughout the County in order to showcase real-world applications with GIS.

Now Therefore Be It Resolved That the Council of the County of Frontenac hereby proclaims November 15, 2023 as GIS Day in Frontenac County.

Click here to learn more about Geographic Information Systems and GIS in Frontenac.

Click here to visit the Frontenac Maps Geo Hub.

There's new functionality, new mapping resources, and a whole new selection of useful open data available now on the newly redesigned FrontenacMaps.ca.

The site, originally launched in 2010, is the public-facing information portal for the Frontenac County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department. GIS offers services including interactive mapping solutions, customized applications, printed cartographic products, and analysis and maintenance of spatial data to clients both in-house and external. It's work that helps people to precisely understand and visualize the geography and geographic boundaries in Frontenac.

The new site is on the ArcGIS platform by internationally renowned GIS software system developer, Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri).

As well as a fresh look, the newest iteration of FrontenacMaps.ca adds new applications and links to similar off-site resources.

Also new is an open data portal. For the first time, everyone with an internet connection has serve-yourself access to download spatial datasets on a wide range of subjects including trails, building footprints, zoning, points of interest, and much more.

"We're really happy to offer the new FrontenacMaps.ca to the public," says Frontenac County GIS Manager, Kevin Farrell. "This site allows for a much-improved user experience enabling us to reach and serve more people, more quickly."

The new site went live on November 14, 2022 as Geography Awareness Week kicked off.

Click here to Learn more about GIS in Frontenac County.

Frontenac County Council voted at its October 19 regular meeting to proclaim November 16 GIS day in Frontenac. See the agenda from that meeting HERE.

The proclamation reads:

Whereas Geography Awareness Week is November 14 - 18, 2022;

And Whereas International Geographic Information System (GIS) Day is November 16, 2022;

And Whereas Geography Awareness Week promotes GIS and geographic literacy;

And Whereas GIS is an important part of geography awareness;

And Whereas the County of Frontenac is committed to expanding GIS awareness throughout the County in order to showcase real-world applications of GIS.

Now Therefore Be It Resolved That the Council of the County of Frontenac hereby proclaims November 16, 2022 as GIS Day in Frontenac County.

Click here to Learn more about GIS in Frontenac County.