Our mission is to build and preserve a focused knowledge base dedicated to Canadian identity and Canadian spirit. Citizen.ca does not seek the comprehensive coverage of a general encyclopedia; it selects knowledge for its significance to understanding Canada. Its purpose is to assemble, organize, verify against cited sources, and preserve knowledge about Canada and the lives of its people. The collection encompasses history, heritage, cultures, places, institutions, everyday experiences, and contributions to Canada and the wider world. It recognizes that Canadian identity is shared, diverse, and continually evolving.
The collection is intended to be substantial enough to reflect that diversity while remaining focused. Selection matters as much as growth: each knowledge item should contribute something meaningful to understanding Canada. Citizen.ca serves citizens, residents, educators, search engines, and AI agents through concise knowledge items, supporting sources, and transparent review and correction records.
A focused collection, at a meaningful scale
To give this commitment a practical scale, Citizen.ca provisionally links its maximum public collection size to Canada’s population, using approximately one knowledge item for every 10,000 citizens/residents. Statistics Canada estimated Canada’s population at 41,798,407 on July 1, 2026. Dividing this figure by 10,000 and rounding to the nearest whole number gives an initial ceiling of 4,180 knowledge items. This ceiling will be reviewed periodically using updated population estimates. English and French versions of the same item count as one item. Statistics Canada.
Selection, consultation and preservation
This ceiling guides editorial selection; it is not a publication target or a limit on research. If the public collection exceeds the ceiling, Citizen.ca will use a transparent review and consultation process to identify items for consolidation, replacement, or withdrawal. Decisions should consider relevance, reliability, distinctiveness, and balanced representation of Canada’s regions, peoples, and experiences. Contributors should have an opportunity to comment, and decisions should be documented. Withdrawn items should remain in a protected archive where appropriate, preserving useful research and the reasons for their withdrawal.
Through this approach, Citizen.ca aims to build a focused, durable and trustworthy Canadian knowledge base—broad in perspective, disciplined in selection, and maintained with care.