Data reference standard on Government of Canada organization names and codes

1. Preamble

1.1 This data reference standard provides Government of Canada departments with a consistent way to describe the names and codes of federal organizations in their datasets. Applying this data reference standard enables data interoperability and improves data quality.

1.2 This data reference standard does not intend to supersede existing sources of federal organization names and codes, such as but not limited to the Financial Administration Act, Government-wide Chart of Accounts and Federal Identity Program Registry of Applied Titles. These existing sources serve different and important purposes and, therefore, this data reference standard is meant to be used in conjunction with them.

1.3 The steward of this data reference standard will review the information in Appendix A as required to ensure it contains the most recent federal organization names.

• 1.3.1 Data reference standard steward: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• 1.3.2 Data reference standard custodian: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

2. Effective date

2.1 This data reference standard takes effect on July 21, 2025.

3. Requirements

3.1 This data reference standard provides details on the requirements set out in subsection 4.3.1 of the Directive on Service and Digital.

3.2 Service owners, data practitioners, and other individuals who interact with data must apply the reference data found in Appendix A by:

• 3.2.1 Using the “Harmonized GC Name” field when displaying federal organization names to clients, such as members of the public or other public servants.
• 3.2.2 Using the “GC OrgID” field when storing or sharing data on federal organizations within the Government of Canada.
• 3.2.3 Using both the “Harmonized GC Name” and the “GC OrgID” fields when publishing datasets that include data on federal organizations.

3.3 The steward of this data reference standard must obtain approval from the custodian of this data reference standard before making changes to the information in Appendix A.

4. Application

4.1 This data reference standard applies to the departments described in Section 6 of the Directive on Service and Digital.

4.2 This data reference standard applies to datasets and systems developed after the effective date of this data reference standard.

4.3 Departments already using other sources of federal organization names and codes are not required to replace them with this data reference standard. However, they are required to add the names and codes provided in Appendix A to their datasets according to the requirements described above or to use the concordance table available on the Open Government Portal to enable a connection to the GC OrgID and the Harmonized GC Names.

5. References

5.1 This data reference standard should be read in conjunction with the following:

6. Enquiries

6.1 For interpretation or application of any aspect of this data reference standard, contact ServiceDigital-ServicesNumerique@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

Appendix A: Reference data

The reference data for this data reference standard is available in machine-readable formats. “Machine-readable” means that software can be directed to reference the table and automatically pull names and codes through an application programming interface (API).

The following files contain information in addition to the required “GC OrgID” and “Harmonized GC Name” to provide users with further context and to allow them to filter data as needed.