Map Resources at UCalgary and Beyond

Calgary Fire Insurance Plans Inventory

* There is a copyright claim of 90 years for FIPs. Sheets dated before this are in the public domain and available for download through our Digital Collections.

** There is a copyright claim of 90 years for the FIPs so some of them are not available to download. We can provide FIPs or extracts where the use of the maps falls under the Fair Dealing exceptions in the Canadian Copyright Act.

How to find UCalgary Fire Insurance Plans for Calgary using our web application:

1. Open the Calgary Fire Insurance Plans application.
2. Use the filters on the right side to select the year ranges you are interested in.
3. Search for the area you are researching by entering the address in the search bar on the top left corner or by navigating to the area of interest on the web map.
4. The extents of each sheet will be outlined on the map. If there is no bounding box around the area you are looking at, that means we do not have Fire Insurance Plans for that area. Select (click) the sheet you are interested in on the map and this will open a pop up window.
5. Use the arrows on the top right of the pop up window to browse the years available for that location.
6. Select the link in the pop up window for the year you are interested in to view the item in our Digital Collections. Note that the 1911-1914 sheets are available from Library and Archives Canada and are not in our Digital Collections, clicking this link will open in a new tab automatically. Here is a screenshot illustrating the previous steps:

7. Access the sheet: 

• If the sheet is in the public domain you will see the image immediately and you can view or download a copy directly from our Digital Collections. 
• If the sheet is in copyright or has a copyright claim, you will see an icon for "Cartographic Material." This means that it is not available for download but you can request digitization on demand service (step 8 below) for that sheet as long as your use falls under the fair dealing exceptions in the Copyright Act.  Note: If you are a current student or staff member at UCalgary and are using the FIPs for research or education indicate that you are a student/faculty/staff and what you are using it for in the "Order Description" section of your request (see below) because the the digitization on demand fee will likely be waived.

8. Requesting digitization on demand: Note that we can only provide the area needed for your research, in most cases this means we will digitize the sheet and provide an cropped extract of the area you need, rather than the whole sheet. To request digitization on demand, create a free account on our digital collections website (if you do not have on already) and follow the steps below to request an extract:

9. After you have made a request, a member of the SANDS team will follow up with any questions about the order and then approve it. You will receive an email notification when the order is approved and then you can follow the link in the email, or login to your account to pay for the service. 

Library and Archives Canada

Digital images online for FIPS of many Canadian cities and towns, prior to 1932.

• Alberta (1905-1920)
• British Columbia (1887-1915)
• Ontario (1858-1932)
• New Brunswick (1877-1924)
• Manitoba (1880-1917)
• Prince Edward Island (1919)
• Nova Scotia (1878-1914)
• Newfoundland and Labrador (1893-1911)
• Saskatchewan (1901-1923)
• Quebec (1879-1917)

Glenbow Fire Insurance Plan Holdings

The Glenbow's fire insurance plans are kept in off-site storage, but can be requested through Spatial and Numeric Data Services - either in person or via email at maps@ucalgary.ca. Check the list of their holdings.