Ontario Lot and Concession Lookup

Ontario land descriptions look nothing like the ones used on the Prairies. Instead of numbered township-range-section references from the Dominion Land Survey, Ontario uses a geographic township system built on named townships, numbered concessions, and numbered lots. If you have a lot-concession-township description and need GPS coordinates, here is what you need to know.

How Ontario's Geographic Township System Works

Ontario was surveyed before the western DLS grid was established, so it follows an older British colonial model. The province was divided into geographic townships — each with a proper name, like Adjala, Oro, or Thurlow. These are not interchangeable with the numbered townships used in Alberta or Saskatchewan.

Within each geographic township, land is organized into two layers:

• Concessions — long horizontal strips of land running roughly east-west (or sometimes at an angle depending on the terrain and survey era). Concessions are numbered, starting from a base line, often a lake shore, river, or road.
• Lots — individual parcels within each concession, numbered sequentially along the concession.

A typical Ontario lot-concession description reads like this:

Lot 10, Concession 1, Township of Adjala

In abbreviated form you will often see: Lot 10 Con 1 Adjala

This locates a specific parcel in the Township of Adjala, Simcoe County — approximately 44.17°N, 79.93°W, north of Toronto near the Dufferin-Simcoe county line.

Ontario vs. the Dominion Land Survey (DLS)

The western DLS system used in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and parts of British Columbia is a uniform grid: every township is 6 miles square, divided into 36 sections, each section further divided into quarter-sections and legal subdivisions. The descriptions are highly predictable.

Ontario's system is different in several important ways:

Because Ontario townships were surveyed independently over many decades, concession widths, lot sizes, and numbering conventions vary from one township to the next. There is no single rule that applies everywhere.

How to Convert a Lot and Concession to GPS Coordinates

Step 1 — Collect the full description. You need three components: the lot number, the concession number, and the geographic township name. If you only have two of the three, the lookup will not work.

Step 2 — Enter the description. On the Ontario Geographic Township Converter, type in the lot, concession, and township. The tool accepts common abbreviations like Lot 10 Con 1 Adjala or the full form Lot 10, Concession 1, Township of Adjala.

Step 3 — Review the map pin. The parcel boundary or centroid will appear on the map. Pan and zoom to confirm the location looks correct relative to roads, rivers, or other landmarks you recognize.

Step 4 — Get the coordinates. The GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude in decimal degrees) appear alongside the map. Copy them directly or export the location for use in GIS software, field navigation, or a report.

Common Gotchas

Township name variations. Some geographic townships have "North" or "South" in the official name — for example, Plantagenet North and Plantagenet South are separate townships, not halves of one. Using just "Plantagenet" may return ambiguous results. Always check the county or district to resolve conflicts.

Concession numbering direction. Most townships number concessions away from a southern or western baseline, but not all. In some townships near a large water body, concessions are numbered from the shore inland. If the pin lands in the wrong place, check whether your source document specifies a direction (e.g., "from the base line" or "from Lake Simcoe").

Broken front townships. Several older townships along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River have irregular lot layouts due to earlier waterfront grants. These "broken fronts" can disrupt the expected lot sequence in Concession 1.

Concession abbreviations. Documents may use Con, C, Conc, or Concession interchangeably. The lookup tool handles all common forms, but double-check if your description uses an unusual abbreviation.

Related Tools and Guides

• Ontario Geographic Township Converter — map any Ontario lot and concession
• Legal Land Description Lookup — general guide covering multiple description types
• DLS to GPS Converter — convert western Canada Dominion Land Survey descriptions
• Glossary — definitions for lot, concession, geographic township, and related terms
• About Township Canada — how the platform works and what it covers

Look up any Ontario lot and concession on Township Canada — enter the description and get the GPS coordinates and map location in seconds.