The film's French version title is L'Atlas du Canada.Canadian mapmakers 400 years ago relied on hand-drawn maps derived from personal accounts by explorers, fur traders and settlers.

Later explorers and prospectors were often the first to go into uncharted regions, and their information on the land was invaluable in drawing up the maps of the time.

13 (Photographic) Squadron flying specially converted Avro Lancaster 10P aircraft undertook the task of mapping Canada's Arctic.

With all the accumulated data from photographs, the mapmakers of the All Canadian Atlas consulted with interested parties from government, industry and academia to ensure that all relevant information is included.

Each of the 500 maps contains a wealth of information, depicting Canada in a hundred different ways from political boundaries, settlement, urban development, habitats, mineral and agricultural areas, temperatures and climates, transportation and industry to provide an accurate portrait of Canada in the late 1950s.