Cityweft’s Canada building dataset combines multiple high-quality building footprint sources with national LiDAR-derived elevation data to produce a highly accurate and consistent 3D building layer for design and planning workflows across Canada.

Building footprints are sourced from datasets such as OpenStreetMap, Microsoft Building Footprints, and additional regional open sources where available. These footprints are then unified and processed by Cityweft before being paired with elevation data from Canada’s High Resolution Digital Elevation Model (HRDEM) Mosaic, part of the CanElevation Series delivered through Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

Data sources

• Building footprints: OpenStreetMap, Microsoft Buildings, and other trusted open datasets
• Height data: HRDEM Mosaic (CanElevation Series) — NRCan (derived primarily from airborne LiDAR in the south, with satellite-derived elevation data in the north)

Latest update

• The dataset reflects the latest available nationwide HRDEM Mosaic coverage, continuously integrated into a single elevation surface using the most recent datasets available per territory

Coverage and reliability

• Nationwide building height coverage across Canada, improving consistency across both cities and lower-density regions
• High height accuracy derived from measured elevation data (LiDAR where available), rather than estimate-based defaults
• In rare edge cases, heights may be affected by temporary or interfering objects (trees, equipment, construction activity), but these occurrences are uncommon

Cityweft processing approach

This dataset relies on a unique and technically complex processing pipeline developed by Cityweft:

• Building footprints from multiple sources are merged, cleaned, and standardized
• Height attributes from footprints are fully overridden using HRDEM-derived elevation measurements
• Each building is extruded to its maximum observed height, resulting in precise and reliable volumetric representations
• The output is optimized for fast, consistent use in 3D city context and site analysis across the Cityweft platform, plugins, and API