But the land area suitable for development is limited by factors such as climate and terrain. In the early 1960 s governments were poised to target economic development programs in rural regions of the country. Subsequently, the national classification systems were drawn up through the cooperative efforts of the provincial and federal government departments responsible for resource development. The 2.6 million square kilometers mapped include the Atlantic provinces and substantial portions of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. The inventory was developed and carried out by federal and provincial governments in conjunction with universities and the private sector.
Mapping is carried out at two scales.
The system excelled in the building of continent wide seamless data bases, with capability to overlay all CLI layers for nation wide or regional analysis. CLI Milestones .