Neil Lim
Event in Vancouver commemorates the history and legacy of the .CA domain
Technology leaders gathered this past weekend at the Telus World of Science to celebrate 15 years of success for Webnames.ca, a leading provider of Internet solutions in Canada and the original .CA domain name registrar. Founded in, 2000, Webnames.ca provides domain name registration services, web hosting, email, web design and SSL security solutions for businesses across Canada.
Webnames.ca Co-Founder John Demco, conceived of the .CA domain name, registering and maintaining the .CA registry for 13 years from his office in the University of British Columbia. From 1987 to 2000, an impressive 100,000 .CA domain names had been registered under the care of Mr. Demco and a small group of volunteers. Mr. Demco has been recognized by a former Prime Minister and honoured with numerous awards for his public service and as a pioneer of the Canadian Internet. “I never imagined that the .CA domain would become so pervasive in our society. When we started, there were only a few thousand computers on the Internet,” said John Demco, co-founder of Webnames.ca. “I am impressed at how.CA has become such an important symbol of Canadian identity online.”
On December 1, 2000, the .CA domain was officially transitioned to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, a non-profit organization charged with operating the domain in the interest of all Canadians. This new structure allowed for the domain market in Canada to scale, responding the increasing demand for .CA domains from Canada’s growing Internet community.
The .CA domain extension has and continues to play an important role in the success of Webnames.ca, fueling the company’s growth into hundreds of other domains and services. Today, Webnames.ca provides its services to millions of Canadians – giving them access to an extensive range of domain choices and other Internet solutions for businesses.
“We are driven by a commitment to helping Canadian businesses succeed online,” said Cybele Negris, CEO and co-founder of Webnames.ca. “During the early days of the Internet, it was hard to predict what approaches and strategies would be successful. Keeping focused on our customers first and foremost and finding new ways to solve their problems has maintained our place as a trusted name in the Canadian market and has helped us consistently grow.”
“It would be impossible to have made it to 2.4 millions .CA domains without the hustle of companies like Webnames.ca. It is our partners that get domains into the hand of entrepreneurs, advocates, makers, and other web-enabled creators that do great things with .CAs,” said Dave Chiswell, VP of product development at .CA. “It’s truly inspiring to look back on what John and Cybele have been able to build over the past fifteen years.”
About Webnames.ca
Webnames.ca is Canada’s original and most experienced domain registrar. Canadian owned and operated since 2000, Webnames.ca began as a spin-off from the Internet pioneers who founded the .CA domain in 1987. A leader in Internet services, Webnames.ca provides corporations, small businesses, entrepreneurs, non-profits and individuals with the solutions they need to successfully operate their businesses online. Some of Webnames.ca’s services include domain registrations and domain portfolio management, web hosting services, business email solutions, advanced DNS and SSL certificates. Webnames.ca’s reputation for reliability is complemented by industry-leading solutions and unlimited toll-free technical support available in both English and French. The multi-million dollar company has an impressive client list that includes many of Canada’s top brands and global Fortune 500 companies.
More information and details are available at https://www.webnames.ca.
About CIRA and .CA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. A Member-driven organization, CIRA also develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.
More information about CIRA is available at https://cira.ca/