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Southern Ontario coverageWhich parts of Southern Ontario can the roofing app measure, and from which lidar survey?
The Blue Crane Roofing Division measures roofs across Southern Ontario, from Toronto and the GTA through Hamilton, Niagara, Brantford and Waterloo Region to London, because Ontario's open lidar survey covers all of them. What differs by area is the year that survey was flown, which decides how well a newer house is measured. Blue Crane Works, in Hamilton, Ontario, loads your service area into your own app at setup.
Lidar surveys under Southern Ontario, by year flown
Survey names from the province's lidar service, read 5 Nov 2026
Which lidar survey covers each region?
We asked the province's own lidar service which survey sits under the centre of each city on 5 November 2026. The Ontario Digital Surface Model (Lidar-Derived) is a compilation of several surveys, so a city on a boundary can have two, and the newest one is used.
| Area | Lidar survey | Newest flight |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto, Scarborough, North York | GTA 2023 and GTA 2014-18 | 2023 |
| Brampton, Vaughan, Markham | GTA 2023 and GTA 2014-18 | 2023 |
| Mississauga | GTA 2014-18 | 2018 |
| Oakville, Burlington | GTA 2023, with Hamilton-Niagara 2021 in Burlington | 2023 |
| Oshawa and Durham | CLOCA Lidar 2018 | 2018 |
| Hamilton, Stoney Creek, the Mountain | Hamilton-Niagara 2021 | 2021 |
| Grimsby, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland | Hamilton-Niagara 2021 | 2021 |
| Brantford, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph | OMAFRA Lidar (Lake Erie) 2016-18 | 2018 |
| Woodstock, Simcoe, St. Thomas | OMAFRA Lidar (Lake Erie) 2016-18 | 2018 |
| London | OMAFRA Lidar (Lake Erie) 2016-18 | 2018 |
| Barrie | OMAFRA Lidar (Lake Simcoe) 2022 | 2022 |
What does the survey year mean for a roofer?
Lidar sees the roof as it was on the day the plane flew. A house that stood then is measured from its own heights; the shape of a roof rarely changes when it is reshingled, so an older survey still measures it well. A house built, raised or added onto after the survey is not in the lidar at all. The app sees the mismatch between the photo and the heights, and says See it on site rather than guessing. Toronto and the GTA have a 2023 survey, Hamilton and Niagara 2021, and much of the southwest, from Brantford and Waterloo Region to London, the 2016 to 2018 Lake Erie survey, so a new subdivision in the southwest is the case most likely to need a site visit for its first number.
What else does the app need for an area?
Two more layers, both loaded into your own app at setup. Building outlines, from Microsoft's open building footprints and OpenStreetMap, tell the app where one house ends and the next begins, which matters for row houses. Address points, from Statistics Canada's Open Database of Addresses and the city's own list where one is published openly, put the pin on the right door. Where a county's address list may not be used commercially without permission, as with Oxford County's, the app uses the map's own pin instead and we say so.
| Area | Outlines and address points |
|---|---|
| Hamilton to Oakville, Milton and Grimsby | Loaded and measuring |
| Mississauga and Georgetown | Loaded and measuring |
| Niagara, from St. Catharines to Fort Erie and Port Colborne | Loaded and measuring |
| Brantford, Paris, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph | Loaded and measuring |
| Haldimand and Norfolk | Loaded and measuring |
| Stratford, Woodstock, Ingersoll and Tillsonburg | Outlines loaded; the pin comes from the map |
| Toronto, York, Durham and London | Loaded at setup for a company working there |
Does Blue Crane come to the office, or is it all remote?
Both. Blue Crane Works is in Hamilton, and setup happens in person across Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Ancaster, Dundas, Waterdown, Burlington, Grimsby and Brantford. Further afield, from Toronto to London and Niagara, the morning with your crew can be in person or on a video call, whichever suits you. After setup, you call the person who built your app.
See it on a roof you already know
Book a 30-minute walkthrough. Bring the address of a roof you have already done, and we measure it with you so you can judge the number against one you know. Then we walk the material list, the proposal, the dispatch board and the crew app, and you tell us how your company works. You leave with a straight answer about what your own app would take and cost. Prices in Canadian dollars, plus HST.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough Call 905-570-5344