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Canada Commons A-Z Database Descriptions and URLs


This article provides ready-to-use, concise descriptions for Canada Commons and its modules—ideal for adding to your library’s A-Z database lists, discovery tools, subject guides, or promotional materials. 

Canada Commons (main platform)

Collaborative digital platform created in partnership with Trojman Corporation providing access to over one million books, government documents, think-tank publications, and primary sources from almost 5,000 Canadian organizations. Includes materials digitized from 1.5 million microfilmed pages of the McLaren Micropublishing collection covering Canadian art, architecture, history, LGBTQ+ history, women's history, and other topics. Supports research across multiple disciplines including sociology, anthropology, business, and economics with a unified search interface across all collections.

Important Tip

In your A-Z lists, Learning Management Systems, research guides, and other locations where users discover resources, It’s important to list both the platform (the Commons) and the individual module.


For example, on the Policy Commons platform, the Public Health and Social Care module offers specialized content that focuses on healthcare policy, social services, and community health initiatives. If you list only Policy Commons, users searching for public health-specific resources may miss the Public Health and Social Care collection. By featuring both the platform and the collection (the module), you increase discoverability of subject-specific content.

Canadian Books & Think Tanks

Comprehensive collection featuring 22,000+ e-books from Canadian academic presses and independent publishers, plus 280,000 documents from Canadian think tanks and other policy organizations. Formerly known as the Canadian Electronic Library, this enhanced version launched in 2021 brings together materials from leading Canadian publishers, university presses, think tanks, and video interviews with experts. Essential resource for Canadian studies with extensive coverage of Canadian materials not available elsewhere in a single database.


Canadian History and Culture

Digital collection of rare newspapers, periodicals, and ephemera covering Canadian history from the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries. Features more than 130 previously undigitized publications from McLaren Micropublishing spanning almost one million pages, with more than 60% of content never digitized before. Includes materials organized in four volumes (1825-1918, 1919-1970, 1971-1980, 1981-2014) with content focusing on Indigenous peoples, women, literature, LGBTQ+ groups, diverse perspectives, labor movements, and cultural publications created for Canadians by Canadians.

Canadian Government

Single-source solution providing indexed access to over 600,000 documents from 500+ Canadian government sources including federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal publications. Brings together scattered materials from hundreds of websites, portals, and feeds that were previously difficult to find and navigate due to variations in size, scope, technology, and approach. Projected to reach 1 million pages by 2025, the collection covers key topics including healthcare, climate, education, Indigenous peoples, and hundreds of other subject areas.