Laura
A short domain name can pack a wealth of information for your website visitors. Think of it as your digital address, it not only tells people where to find you, but it also gives them a sense of your identity and location. Just as a street address can reveal whether a place in nearby or in a reputable area, a domain name can convey trust and relevance to your audience.
This is why selecting the right domain name is crucial, and it’s also why CIRA is committed to ensuring .CA domains remain safe and reliable. But don’t just take our word for it, here are five reasons why Canadians trust .CA domains:
.CA Stands for Canada
It’s straightforward: .CA signifies Canada and when it comes to trust, Canada’s global reputation is hard to beat. A .CA domain instantly signals to visitors that your website is Canadian, fostering a sense of familiarity and connection among fellow Canadians.
But did you know the story behind the .CA domain? It was created by John Demco, one of the founders of Webnames.ca, who played a pivotal role in establishing Canada’s online identity. In 1987, Demco, then a computer facilities manager at the University of British Columbia, took on the responsibility of managing the .CA domain registry. For over a decade, he voluntarily oversaw its operations, ensuring that Canadian businesses and individuals had a trusted online space to call home. His dedication laid the foundation for what .CA is today – a symbol of Canadian pride and trust on the internet.
When your website carries a .CA domain, it not only tells visitors you’re Canadian, but also connects you to a legacy of innovation and community that began with Demco’s vision. It’s a small detail that speaks volumes about your roots and values.
Two Letters & a Dot Say A Lot!
Let’s try a quick thought experiment.
Imagine you’re looking for maple candy to thank your neighbour, a friendly lumberjack who helped you fend off a crazy beaver attack (this comes up again later in the blog). You come across two options:
- maplecandybymable.ca
- maplecandygoodness.com
Which one do you think is more likely to:
- Ship within Canada?
- List prices in Canadian dollars?
- Use authentic Quebec Grade A Amber maple syrup?
A .CA domain gives potential customers valuable information before they even click through. It reassures them that your business caters specifically to Canadians, building trust and answering key questions upfront.
The Canadian Presence Requirement
Legend has it that deep within the halls of CIRA, there exists a guardian of the .CA domain, a figure known only as Mordecai (or Morty for short). Though his true identity remains shrouded in mystery, his role is clear: to protect the sanctity of Canada’s digital identity. Morty is the enforcer of the Canadian Presence Requirement, a sacred rule that ensures only those with a genuine connection to Canada can claim a .CA domain.
Morty’s vigilance is unmatched. He can spot a Californian, a Catalonian, or even a chartered accountant from Casablanca attempting to register a .CA domain from miles away. His mission? To preserve the integrity of the .CA domain and its connection to Canadians.
Why does this matter? (Don’t let Morty hear you ask this question!) Because Morty and his team at CIRA stand as sentinels against those who might misuse .CA domains for nefarious purposes. While other domains, like .co (originally tied to Columbia), have opened their gates to the world, .CA remains uniquely Canadian, guarded by Morty’s unwavering dedication.
So, when you register a .CA domain, know that you’re not just choosing a web address, you’re joining a legacy protected by the folklore of Mordecai the Moose.
.CA Domains Are Highly Secure
Let’s be real: nothing is completely foolproof. If a mischievous beaver can chew through fibre-optic cables and knock out an entire town’s internet (yes, this actually happened in Tumbler Ridge, BC in 2021), then no system is entirely immune. But when it comes to online security, .CA domains are about as close as you can get to a digital fortress.
Take the SpamHaus Project, for example. This international nonprofit organization tracks spam and cyber threats like phishing, malware, and botnets, and it maintains a list of the most abused top-level domains (TLDs) and country code TLDs (ccTLDs) based on their “Badness Index” score which measures how often a domain is used for malicious activities. The lower the score, the safer the domain.
At the top of the list (current as of date of publication) is .PINK, with a jaw-dropping Badness Index of 83.4. That’s the digital equivalent of leaving your front door wide open with a neon “Welcome Scammers!” sign.
[Note: the “Badness Index” is calculated by taking the number of malicious domains divided by the total number of observed domains from the past four weeks, multiplied by a factor to give a higher weighting to entities with a greater number of malicious domains.]
And where does .CA stand? With a Badness Index of just 0.0111 (Ranked #68 out of 73 ccTLDs), a very, very low percentage of .CA domains are used for harmful purposes and are among the safest on the internet. To put that into perspective, here’s how other popular TLDs compare:
- .COM – 0.5 (ranked #132 out of 188 TLDs)
- .NET – 0.5 (ranked #127 out of 188 TLDs)
- .ORG – 0.2 (ranked #172 out of 188 TLDs)
- .INFO – 0.6 (ranked #120 out of 188 TLDs)
- .SHOP – 1.3 (ranked #84 out of 188 TLDs)
So, while no system is perfect, .CA domains are as close as it gets.
Your Personal Information is Protected
When you register a .CA domain, your contact information is typically stored in a database that helps identify who owns what domain. For years, this was done through a system called WHOIS, a public directory that allowed anyone to look up domain ownership details. But times are changing, and the internet is evolving to better protect your privacy.
The industry is transitioning to a more secure and privacy-focused system called Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP). RDAP is designed to provide better control over who can access your information and how it’s shared. While WHOIS is being phased out globally, RDAP ensures that your personal data is handled with greater care and precision.
If you’re registering a .CA domain as an individual, your contact information is automatically protected with WHOIS privacy (or its future RDAP equivalent). This means your personal details, like your home address or phone number, are kept private. If someone needs to contact you, they can use a secure Message Delivery Form via CIRA, which forwards their message without revealing your information.
Canadians trust .CA domains for the same reason they trust a sturdy pair of snow boots or a reliable plow during a winter storm – they just work. Whether it’s the unmistakable Canadian identity, the ironclad security, or the privacy protections that feel like a warm hug, .CA domains are built to stand out on a global stage. Choosing .CA isn’t just about picking a web address, it’s about planting a flag online and proclaiming, “This is us. We’re Canadian, and we’re proud of it.”
We would like to thank CIRA for the inspiration for this blog.