One Million .ca Domains Registered

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority announced on Tuesday that Canadian Internet users have registered one million .ca domain names, which illustrates the country’s strong Internet presence and the popularity of Canadian websites.

The one-millionth dot-ca domain name, krauslaw.ca, was registered by Brent Krause of Calgary, Alberta who is using the domain for a website that promotes his private law practice.

First established in 1987 by a group of volunteers at the University of British Columbia, the .ca domain name was later transferred to CIRA in 2000. In 1988, the University of Prince Edward Island registered upei.ca as the first .ca domain name.

Since then, the domain name usage has matured at over 20 percent per year and is now the 17th largest Internet domain name registry when compared to generic domain names like .com and country specific domain names like .uk.

The organization has launched onemilliondomains.ca as a commemorative website that highlights .ca success stories. The domain name is obtainable through a network of over 140 Canadian domain name registrars who also offer a range of Internet solutions including Web hosting, email service and website design.

CIRA is the non-profit, member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .ca domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community and represents the .ca registry internationally. CIRA says it processes over 300 million requests per day to connect Internet users with over one million .ca Internet addresses.