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Open data

Open data is structured information that's anonymized (not personally identifiable), free, and available to everyone.

New Open Data Portal

Explore, search, filter, and visualize datasets with maps or charts – right in your browser – whether you're a novice or expert.

Export data in popular formats or consume them using an application programming interface (API).

View the portal

Legacy Open Data Catalogue

The legacy catalogue will remain available until early fall (exact date to be announced).

Open the legacy catalogue

Updated Council budget and expenses dataset

September 27, 2019 - Updated Council budget and expenses data set to include 2019 second-quarter data. Data is available in CSV, XLS, and XML formats

Learn more and download the dataset

Updated business licence dataset

July 11, 2019 - Updated data files starting from 2017 to remove the names of the licence holders from short term rental business licence category. Data is available in CSV, JSON, XLS, and XML formats

Learn more and download the dataset

Updated Council budget and expenses dataset

May 30, 2019 - Updated Council budget and expenses dataset to include 2019 first-quarter data. Data is available in CSV, XLS, and XML formats.

Learn more and download the dataset

Updated Council expenses and employee remuneration datasets

April 17, 2019 - Updated Council budget and expenses dataset to include 2018 fourth-quarter data

Learn more and download the dataset

Updated employee remuneration and expenses (earning over $75,000/year) dataset to include 2018 data

Learn more and download the dataset

Anonymous ballot marking dataset

January 31, 2019 - Added anonymous ballot marking data for 2018 municipal election and 2017 municipal by-election. Data is available in CSV and XLSX formats.

Learn more and download the dataset

Updated Council budget and expenses dataset

January 24, 2019 - Updated Council budget and expenses dataset to include 2018 third-quarter data. Data is available in CSV, XLS, and XML formats.

Learn more and download the dataset

Datasets are made available in one or more formats depending on the type and context of the data.

CSV/XLS

This is a basic text format that can be opened by many applications including Excel and other spreadsheet applications.

 Excel may not display content in CSV correctly.

DWG

DWG is a "de facto GIS standard" format native to Autodesk design and GIS software. It can be consumed by a wide variety of Autodesk and non-Autodesk software packages.

ECW

ECW is a format used for geo-referenced raster images that is highly compressed.

GeoJSON

GeoJSON is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for human-readable data interchange. GeoJSON is a version of JSON that focuses on geographically-based data.

JSON

JSON is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for human-readable data interchange.

KML

KML is a mark-up language developed by Keyhole Inc. and subsequently acquired by Google to display data in Google Maps, Google Earth and similar applications. KML is an Open Geospatial Consortium standard.

MrSID

MrSID (pronounced "Mister SID") is a format used for geo-referenced raster images that is highly compressed. The MrSID version of the facetized orthophotos are only about 5% of the size of their GeoTiff versions.

SHP

SHP (pronounced "shape") is a "de facto GIS standard" format native to ESRI GIS software. It can be consumed by a wide variety of ESRI and non-ESRI software packages.

Web feed

A web feed (or news feed) is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. 

 Note: DWG, SHP, TIF, Mr. SID and ECW formats are projected in UTM zone10, NAD83 (CSRS). KML and CSV/XLS formats are projected in latitude, longitude (WGS84); this is relevant for CSV/XLS files only if they contain latitude and longitude.

Why are there two licences? 

On September 24, 2013, the City adopted the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. This licence is based on version 2.0 of the Open Government Licence – British Columbia, which was adapted from the Open Government Licence – Canada.

The Open Government Licence – Canada was developed through public consultation and collaborative efforts. As a result, this licence states terms for accessing and using government data that are consistent with those applied by several other Canadian government bodies. This consistency makes it easier for users to combine, integrate, and share data from multiple sources across Canada.

Before adopting this new licence, the City used the Archived Open Data Licence.

What licence applies?

Depending on when data was obtained from this website, a specific licence applies.

For data sets obtained:

  • On or after September 24, 2013, refer to the Open Government Licence – Vancouver
  • Before September 24, 2013, refer to the Archived Open Data Licence

How to link directly to this tab

To reference the licences on this tab for when you use datasets, use the vanity URL vancouver.ca/open-government-licence.

Open and accessible data

In May of 2009, Vancouver City Council passed a motion referred to as Open3 declaring that the City of Vancouver will endorse the principles of open and accessible data and will freely share with citizens, business, and other jurisdictions the greatest amount of data possible while respecting privacy and security concerns.

The data that people want

The City’s response to this motion involved an initial assessment of what data could and should be made available in the short-term. We identified data that was of most interest to the community and that had already been vetted through many of the legal, business, and technical processes required to make information publicly available. This turned out to be much of the spatial data that we currently publish through VanMap, which is our public mapping portal.

Publishing data

We then launched the Open Data website in September 2009 and have been adding new data to it since then.

In May of 2010, we developed a longer term plan for open data. The plan outlined short and long terms goals, including the publication of certain datasets, engagement with users of open data, and moving open data from project phase to an operational program.

City wins 2011 Most Innovative Organization in BC Award

BC Business recognized the City of Vancouver as the Most Innovative Organization in BC in 2011 for its open data initiative.

"... Our experts were unanimous in their view that the city’s open-data initiative – which aims to make the city’s vast trove of data publicly available online – is a true breakthrough."

First annual Open Data Hackathon

On February 23, 2013, we held an Open Data Hackathon to encourage citizens to write applications, liberate data, create visualizations, and publish analyses using open public data.

Learn more about the success of this annual event:

Improve access to government data

In September 2013, the City adopted the Canadian Open Government Licence (OGL). It gives users consistent terms for accessing and using government data, making it easier to combine, integrate, and share data from multiple providers across Canada. This is a major step towards encouraging wider use of open data and delivering more value to the public. Vancouver joins the Government of Canada, Provinces of BC, Alberta, and Ontario, and the cities of Nanaimo, Edmonton, and Toronto in adopting the OGL.

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