Government publications at your fingertips
Are you looking for research material or information on a topic of interest?
Maybe you’d like to read about plastic pollution, allergens in Easter chocolates or the Battle of Vimy Ridge, or you’re a small business owner who needs help completing a Record of Employment for an employee.
Federal publications on these and a variety of other topics are centralized, free and easy to access on Government of Canada Publications.
There are nearly 550,000 publications, including documents, videos and podcasts, from a range of federal departments and agencies.
A great public resource
As a one-stop shop, the Government of Canada Publications website has enormous value.
“The federal government is big. At times, it can feel unwieldy,” says Sean Graham, with the Government of Canada Publications Directorate. “If you're looking for a specific publication, you might not know which department it falls under. On this site, you don’t even have to think about that.”
Moreover, the federal government produces publications on a broad range of subjects. “There's far more depth and variety in the publications than I would have thought before I started this job,” says Graham.
In addition to the array of topics covered in English and French, many of the materials are available in different languages. Over 60 languages are represented in the collection, including 20 Indigenous languages, as well as both American Sign Language and Quebec Sign Language.
Since every version of a given publication is retained on the website, and there are many historic publications, it’s also a great research tool and window into the evolution of federal policies and programs.
Making publications available
Public Services and Procurement Canada has been providing Canadians with access to federal publications, and building a massive collection, since 1927. In the past, the work involved printing, warehousing and shipping documents to libraries all over the country. “It was a very physical operation,” says Stéphanie Côté, also with the Publications team.
While the entire catalogue is now online and available at the click of a mouse, there is still plenty of work involved. Organizations across the federal government send digital copies of their publications to the Publications team. The team provides the publications with classification numbers and metadata, for tracking and online search purposes, and then posts the items to the Government of Canada Publications website.
The team also focuses on making the website as engaging, user-friendly and accessible as possible. It’s an ongoing project. For example, it requires collaboration with departments and agencies to support the availability of more accessible publications with alternative formats for persons with disabilities.
“As well, we enhance the website experience by highlighting a number of publications every month,” notes Graham. “We use anniversaries and key days of note to feature certain publications. For example, during Pride Month, we put a spotlight on federal publications related to the 2SLGBTQI+ community.” In addition, users can browse publications ranked by “most requested” and “top downloads,” and a weekly list of new titles can be consulted to discover the most recent additions to the collection.
The list of new titles is referenced by libraries in Canada and around the world. They add some of the publications to their catalogues, allowing even more people to access Government of Canada publications.
In these ways, the Government of Canada Publications Directorate plays an essential role in supporting an open and transparent government, which strengthens our democracy. Learn more about the work involved by watching this video, or check out Government of Canada Publications yourself.
For more articles about Public Services and Procurement Canada services making a difference in the lives of Canadians, visit Our Stories.
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