.ca

.ca is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Canada. The domain name registry that operates it is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). Registrants can register domains at the second level (e.g., example.ca). Third-level registrations in one of the geographic third-level domains defined by the registry (e.g. example.ab.ca) were discontinued on October 12, 2010, but existing third-level domain names continue to be supported. Registrants of .ca domains must meet the Canadian Presence Requirements as defined by the registry. Examples of valid entities include: a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, of the age of majority a legally recognized Canadian organization an Inuit, First Nation, Métis or other people indigenous to Canada an Indian Band as defined in the Indian Act of Canada a foreign resident of Canada that holds a registered Canadian trademark an executor, administrator or other legal representative of a person or organization that meets the requirements a division of the government the monarch of Canada Canadian Internet Registration Authority The domain name was originally allocated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to John Demco of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1987. The first .ca domain was registered by the University of Prince Edward Island in January 1988. In 1997, at the Canadian annual Internet conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Internet community, with a view to liberalize registration procedures and substantially improve turnaround times, decided to undertake reform of the .ca Registry. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is a non-profit Canadian corporation that is responsible for operating the .ca Internet country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) today. It assumed operation of the .ca ccTLD on December 1, 2000, from UBC. On April 15, 2008, CIRA registered its one millionth .ca Internet domain name. Any .ca registration has to be ordered via a certified registrar.