Geodetic Reference Systems are the foundation for geospatial data, serving as the official reference for latitude, longitude, height and gravity in Canada.  There are many contributors to providing such standards to Canadians, including Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments, the private sector, academia, and others.  

Users will know that every few years there are new versions introduced of the datums or reference frames. A change in reference system, however, involves a complete revision of the defining parameters and only occurs once every few decades. 

In Canada we are in a time of major change, with the introduction of new reference systems to replace the NAD83(CSRS) system, the International Great Lakes Datum and the system for gravity standards. Many will still be adapting to the new system for Heights introduced in 2013.   Geospatial information in an older reference system (e.g. NAD83(CSRS)) will require transformation to be compatible with data in the new system.  The introduction will occur over a good period of time and extensive tools and support will be available. 

These standards are changing at the same time as we see the introduction of new positioning services.  New satellite constellations will be supported by new augmentation systems, and the era of the medium-Earth orbit GNSS satellites may be coming to an end.