Annual Event Draws 4,000 across 16 Canadian Cities

TORONTO - April 8, 2010 - Continuing its commitment to support and develop the Canadian geographic information system (GIS) user community, ESRI Canada today kicked off its 2010 User Conferences in London, Ontario.  The annual event, to be held in 16 cities across the country, draws more than 4,000 ESRI customers, partners and industry experts and has become one of Canada's most important GIS events.  

This year's conference theme, "GIS: Designing Our Future," recognizes the importance of leveraging the power of geography to preserve the health and sustainability of the planet, and ensure our well-being.  

"Dealing with the many challenges the world faces requires innovative thinking and new approaches," said Alex Miller, President, ESRI Canada.  "This year's conference will provide strategies for integrating design and geographic knowledge into how we plan, decide and measure the effects of our actions to collectively address these challenges and sustainably manage our world.  Our users will find these events a great way to share ideas and best practices that they can apply in their work."  

To promote sharing of geographic information, the conference will highlight ESRI's Community Maps Program, where organizations and individuals can contribute imagery, street and topographic maps for public use.  Contributors' data is integrated with data from other participants and is published and hosted through ESRI's free online map service.  This allows maps to be made widely available without the cost of setting up and maintaining the infrastructure.

In addition to ESRI technology updates, the conference will include compelling user presentations and technical sessions, as well as presentations by students that will demonstrate how young people are enhancing their critical thinking and spatial literacy skills with GIS.  ESRI partners will showcase their products and services in the Solutions Expos.  The company will also recognize outstanding local GIS successes with the ESRI Canada Awards of Excellence.

The 2010 User Conferences will be held in the following Canadian cities:
London, ON (April 8 - 9)
Victoria, BC (April 15 -16)
Québec City, QC (April 20 -21)
Sudbury, ON (April 27 -28)
Whitehorse, YT (May 11)
Kamloops, BC (May 12 - 13)
Calgary, AB (May 18 - 19)
Winnipeg, MB (June 3 - 4)
Edmonton, AB (Sept. 16 - 17)
Montréal, QC (Sept. 21 - 22)
Regina, SK (Sept. 30 - Oct. 1)
Toronto, ON (Oct. 6 - 7)
Ottawa, ON (Oct. 19 - 20)
Fredericton, NB (Oct. 26 - 27)
Vancouver, BC (Nov. 2 - 3)
St. John's, NL (Nov. 17 - 18)

To register for the 2010 ESRI Canada User Conferences, visit: http://www.esricanada.com/english/1281.asp.

                                                                             ###

About ESRI Canada
Founded in 1984, ESRI Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments, and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography.    The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from ESRI, Telvent Miner & Miner, Azteca Systems, and other technology partners.  Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada.  Information about ESRI Canada can be found at http://www.esricanada.com/.   

Media contact:
Joy Chan
PR Specialist
ESRI Canada
+1 (416) 386-6488
Email Contact
http://www.esricanada.com/