History
What is CIRA?
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the not-for-profit, member-driven organization that manages Canada's dot-ca (.ca) domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the dot-ca registry internationally. CIRA processes over 300 million requests per day to connect Internet users with over one million dot-ca Internet addresses.
When did CIRA begin operations?
CIRA was incorporated in December 1998 and became the official dot-ca registry on December 1, 2000.
What does CIRA do?
CIRA is responsible for operating the dot-ca Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) as a key public resource for all Canadians in an innovative, open and efficient manner. CIRA may develop, carry out and support other Internet-related activities in Canada.
As the administrator of the authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) servers for the dot-ca domain, CIRA has a critical role in maintaining the integrity and security of the DNS network infrastructure in Canada.
How is CIRA governed?
CIRA is governed by a 15-person Board of Directors. Twelve Directors are elected and hold voting seats. The other three—CIRA’s president and CEO, a Government of Canada representative and John Demco, one of the founders of dot-ca—are appointed and cannot vote.
Who was responsible for registering the dot-ca domain before CIRA?
From 1987 to November 2000, dot-ca domain names were assigned and registered by a dot-ca committee, a volunteer organization headed by John Demco, former Computing Facilities Manager for the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC). UBC provided the technical and administrative resources to house and operate the registry.
At that time the dot-ca domain was primarily for the government and academic communities; individuals could not register domains.
