A Proud Canadian Company
With Canada Day upon us, we are taking a moment to reflect on our Canadian heritage.
Teranet contributed to the digitization of Canada’s first electronic land database and has ever since been committed to providing comprehensive property data nationwide, growing a diverse Canadian presence, and creating jobs across Canada.
As Canada’s 152nd birthday approaches, we are thinking about our country’s roots — and also our own. We are proud to be part of such an amazing diverse, multicultural, and internationally respected nation. To remember the sacrifices of our great military, to tout great Canadian talent and their contribution throughout the world, and to simply be proud to be Canadian.
Humble beginnings:
Teranet’s little slice of Canadian history starts in 1991, when the company was founded in Ontario from a desire to automate a historically paper-driven process. We delved into 200 years of history and settlement to digitize the Ontario Land Registry and in 1995, Teraview was launched. Our writs system came in 1997, followed by eReg in 1999, the world’s first electronic real property registration system. In 2001, GeoWarehouse was launched, and in 2002 so was Purview. In 2014, we acquired the Manitoba Land Registry, once again being entrusted with a significant Canadian historical record and essential service.
From 1991 to the present, for 28 years, we have expanded our reach across Canada, building a national property dataset, and maintained an ongoing commitment to making data accessible and easy to consume for a wide range of Canadian industries and professionals through value-added solutions.
A Canadian success story:
A true Canadian success story, Teranet Inc.’s CEO, Elgin Farewell, joined Teranet in 1997 after serving as the Land Registrar in the Peel and Hamilton-Wentworth regions, coordinating the Electronic Registration Initiative that introduced the world’s first statutory electronic land registration system. Elgin joined the original leadership team in 1999 and assumed a number of executive roles leading up to his appointment as CEO in 2013.
For Elgin, Canada Day is always a special day as he looks back on his ancestors who had arrived from the USA in 1779 after the American War of Independence. Among the original settlers of Oshawa, the Farewells were also fur traders, politicians, lumberjacks, and militia who fought and were captured at York during the war of 1812, only to be recovered the next day by the Redcoats. Elgin takes great pride in the great country we have all built and continue to build together.
A Company Committed to People
We love our people. Teranet employs more than 1,000 staff members in Canada, across a wide range of cultural backgrounds.
“Driven by a strong purpose, identity and a sense of meaning, as Teranet grows, I see a very exciting future for our people,” says Nadim Kara, Chief Human Resources Officer at Teranet. “Teranet has an increasingly diverse and inclusive workplace where innovation, continuous learning and operational excellence are achieved by bringing together our unique experiences, perspectives and the expertise of our team members.”
We also love giving back. TeraLife supports Second Harvest through monetary donations and assisting with Feeding Our Future and Warehouse Sort programs. In the past we have supported Habitat for Humanity, CAMH, Sick Kids, and Make A Wish Canada.
Ongoing Canadian leadership:
It is a testament to the ongoing leadership vision and values that Teranet has repeatedly been awarded the “Greater Toronto’s Top Employer” award.
We have also won awards for industry service provider of the year and being a top Canadian technology company, garnered accolades for our geographic information system (GIS) investment, been nominated for excellence in Manitoba service partnership awards, and more.
Our leadership and team members have provided a strong vision and execution. We aim to provide true worth through our comprehensive national property dataset, accessible insights and Canadian values.
“At Teranet we deliver what we promise,” Kara says.
“At the core, our vision is to be the trusted partner to businesses and governments in building stronger communities and economies. We have a strong track record of delivering on our promises because of the personal commitment of each and every one of our talented individuals,” says Farewell.
A Growing Canadian Presence
From our humble beginnings, Teranet has grown substantially. In the past two years alone, Teranet has acquired the Collateral Management Solutions Division of D+H Corporation and expanded its solutions and offerings to the financial community, including:
- CMS lien registry and recovery solutions,
- A new market insights report,
- A market insights forum,
- New products,
- And more.
“I see a Teranet where each individual can find meaning by advancing their career, while simultaneously delivering value for Teranet, our OMERS pension holders, our business and government partners, and our communities,” Farewell says.
Happy Birthday, Canada:
We are excited about what is to come for Teranet and our great country. We would love to hear from you. We hope you enjoy celebrating our beautiful nation this Canada Day.
Happy 152nd Birthday, Canada!
About Teranet Inc.
Teranet designs, develops and operates world-leading land information systems for the legal, real estate, and financial services industries. In addition to owning and operating the electronic land registration system for the Province of Ontario, Teranet has developed specialized offerings to assist real estate agents, lawyers, and financial institutions, to better manage their decision, document and risk management processes. Recently, Teranet extended its registry services business through the acquisition of D+H Collateral Management Solutions. Teranet is a wholly-owned investment of OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
