CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) is a not for profit corporation, a virtual real estate domain leader holding the top level domain
names in Canada. Any citizen or permanent citizen can use .CA to get a domain name that will maximize their traffic and profits and lend them credibility. Having a .ca domain name allows you to be recognized as a Canadian because .ca is reserved only for the use of Canadians.
You must meet certain criteria of the Canadian Presence Requirements in order to get a .ca domain name. You are classified as to legal type such as a citizen, corporation, permanent resident, political party, etc. By determining your legal type, CIRA insures that the registrant is legally connected to Canada and not someone in another country masquerading as a Canadian.
Domain names are so important because they function as storefronts in the virtual shopping world. Whether someone is looking for a specific product or a service, they will notice Shoes.ca much more readily than yzshoes-are-more.ca. The first domain name looks much more trustworthy and legitimate than the second cobbled-together name that is struggling to show the purpose of its storefront. This difference in these names is that the first website got a good domain name early on.
You can go buy a domain name but chances are not good that you’ll get what you want. Over 200 million domain names are already registered and it’s difficult to submit an original idea without finding that someone else already owns that domain name. Some names are quite valuable, such as Business.com which sold for $7.5 million in 1999. Insure.com beat that record when it sold for $16 million in 2009. Other top sellers include Beer.com, Casino.com, Toys.com and Candy.com.
Nobody I know can afford to pay millions for a domain name and that’s where .CA comes into the picture. Do you think the owner of Shoes.ca was just lucky enough to get that domain before the stampede to internet marketing and communication? The answer is that he probably wasn’t that lucky, just smart. He most likely got that domain name from .CA.
.CA grabs domain names as they expire or are repossessed. A domain owner might go out of business, decide to stop internet activity or be unable to pay the maintenance fee for the domain. It then reverts back to the original broker, who might allow it to be posted for sale. .CA buys prime domain names, secures the rights and puts them on the market for .CA members
Unlike Business.com, members of CIRA don’t have to pay millions for good domain names. Because CIRA manages Canada’s domain name directory it can tell a person quickly whether the domain name they want is available. If so, the person registers the domain name in the usual manner and CIRA will certify you as a Canadian website with the .ca domain extension.
