Internet domain has become integral to Canada’s identity
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority, the organization that manages the .CA Internet domain, is celebrating .CA’s pivotal role in bringing Canadians together online and building Canada’s digital brand abroad.
In 1987, responsibility for the .CA domain was assigned to John Demco at the University of British Columbia (UBC) by Jon Postel, operator of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). The first eight .CA domain names were registered on January 12, 1988, with the very first one claimed by the University of Prince Edward Island.
Twenty-five years later, there are nearly two million .CA domain names. .CA is now the world’s 14th-largest country code domain registry, with the fourth-highest growth rate among all domain registries over the past five years. .CA has become a trusted, secure and reliable domain that is recognized worldwide as part of the Canadian brand. According to a survey carried out for CIRA by The Strategic Counsel, over 80 per cent of Canadians prefer the .CA domain over .COM for online banking, shopping and to stay up to date on current events.
“.CA has become an integral part of the Canadian economic and social landscape,” said Byron Holland, President and CEO of CIRA. “Milestone anniversaries like this are times to reflect on the accomplishments of .CA, and of those key visionaries, like John Demco, who saw the Internet’s potential.”
