Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying

What Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying does

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying Ltd. is a privately held, Ottawa-based professional land surveying firm founded in 1908 by Sidney Farley in Hull (now Gatineau), Quebec. The company delivers a full suite of cadastral and construction surveying services — including Condominium Plans, Plans of Subdivision, Reference Plans, Surveyors Real Property Reports (SRPR), Property Line Retracements, Construction Layout and As-Built Surveys, First Nation Reserve CLSR/Canada Lands Surveys, and Topographic Surveys — to residential property owners, commercial developers, institutional clients, and federal/municipal government agencies across the National Capital Region. It is dually registered with the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (AOLS) and the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ALCS/ACLS), giving it a relatively rare capability to survey federally regulated lands including Indigenous reserves, national parks, and offshore areas, in addition to standard Ontario provincial work.

The firm's service delivery is built on conventional optical and GNSS surveying instruments paired with AutoCAD-based drafting and standard Land Registry Office workflows. There is no public-facing pricing; all engagements are project-based and quoted through a website intake form or direct office contact. The go-to-market is sales-led, direct, and relationship-driven, with no channel partners, resellers, or intermediaries. A single headquarters at 275-30 Colonnade Road, Ottawa serves as both office and operations base, with field crews deployed regionally. Digital presence is limited to a corporate website and a LinkedIn profile.

The business is led by President/Owner Daniel B. Robinson (35+ years in surveying), supported by a small, tenured team including a Project Manager (25+ years), a CAD Technologist (10+ years), and an Office Administrator (25+ years). Ownership is local and independent, with no venture capital, institutional investment, parent company, or M&A activity disclosed. Revenue, headcount growth rate, and backlog are not publicly disclosed; the firm's scale and structure are consistent with a small, mature, project-based professional services operation in the low-to-mid single-digit million CAD revenue range.

Name

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying

Legal name

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying Ltd.

Website

https://fsdsurveys.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying Ltd. is an Ottawa-based, privately held land surveying firm founded in 1908, serving residential, commercial, institutional, and government clients in the National Capital Region with cadastral, construction, and Canada Lands surveying services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Surveying Services: Project-based professional surveying services including condominium plans, subdivision plans, reference plans, surveyors real property reports, property line retracements, construction layout and as-built surveys, topographic surveys, and First Nation Reserve land surveys. Revenue is generated through one-time project fees based on scope and complexity of surveying requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying Ltd. is a multidisciplinary land surveying firm that provides professional surveying services for residential, commercial, institutional, and governmental clients. Its core offerings include condominium plans, plans of subdivision, reference plans, surveyors real property reports, property line retracements, construction layout and as-built surveys, topographic surveys, and First Nation Reserve/Canada Lands surveys, delivered on a per-project basis by licensed Ontario Land Surveyors and Canada Lands Surveyors.

Product overview

Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying Ltd. is a multidisciplinary survey firm offering a comprehensive suite of land surveying services for residential, commercial, institutional, and governmental clients in the Ottawa region. The company's service portfolio includes Condominium Plans, Plan of Subdivision, Reference Plans, Surveyors Real Property Reports, Property Line Retracements, Construction Layout and As-Built Surveys, First Nation Reserve CLSR/Canada Lands Surveys, and Topographic Surveys. The firm leverages modern site development technology to deliver detailed estimates and project completion within budget.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Condominium Plans Professional condominium survey service that divides ownership of land or units within a building, specializing in new construction condominium surveys and condominium conversion of existing buildings. Targeted at developers, condominium corporations, and legal counsel in Ontario.
• Plan of Subdivision Survey service that divides a single parcel of land into two or more new parcels or lots, establishing boundaries and registering plans at the Land Registry Office after municipal approval. Used by land developers and property owners subdividing holdings.
• Reference Plans Survey plans filed at the Land Registry Office required to subdivide land or make changes to registered title, showing surveyed boundaries, dimensions, and physical features affecting property title. Serves property owners, lawyers, and institutional clients.
• Surveyors Real Property Reports (SRPR) Legal document prepared by a licensed Ontario Land Surveyor providing an accurate representation of property as it exists prior to purchase, including boundaries, improvements, and encroachments. Used by homeowners, buyers, sellers, lenders, and real estate lawyers.
• Property Line Retracements Boundary re-establishment service that determines and marks property boundaries accurately, critical for fence installation, resolving encroachment, and property transfer transactions. Targeted at residential and small commercial property owners.
• Construction Layout and As-Built Survey Construction surveying service using state-of-the-art instruments to verify project compliance with engineering design plans and record variations in completed projects. Serves general contractors, engineers, and developers during the build phase.
• First Nation Reserve CLSR / Canada Lands Surveys Canada Land Surveyor services for federally regulated lands including Indigenous lands, national parks, and offshore areas, providing boundary delineation and legal land descriptions. Serves First Nations, federal agencies, and other clients on Canada Lands.
• Topographic Survey High-precision base map survey documenting natural and man-made features of land including elevations, landscaping, buildings, streams, roads, and underground utilities. Used by engineers, architects, developers, and institutional clients for design and planning.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TULLOCH Engineering Inc. Ontario-based engineering and surveying firm offering boundary surveys, topographic mapping, construction layout, and subdivision plans across the province. Comparable service mix and project-based professional services model, though operating across multiple Ontario regions rather than a single market.
• Ainley Group: Eastern Ontario engineering, planning, and surveying firm with offices across the region including proximity to Ottawa. Competes for municipal infrastructure, land development, and surveying assignments with overlapping service offerings to developers and government clients.
• J.L. Richards & Associates Limited: Ottawa-based multi-disciplinary engineering, planning, and surveying firm serving the National Capital Region. Closely comparable in geographic footprint and in offering land surveying alongside engineering services to public and private clients in Ottawa.
• Annis O'Sullivan Vollebekk Ltd. Eastern Ontario and Ottawa-area surveying firm specializing in legal surveys, condominium plans, reference plans, and topographic surveys for residential and commercial developers. Closely comparable in service mix and customer base within the same regional geography.
• CIMA+ Canada Inc. Canadian engineering and geomatics firm with offices across Ontario and Quebec including the National Capital Region. Offers land surveying, topographic mapping, and construction surveying as part of a broader infrastructure consulting portfolio.
• McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers Ltd. Ottawa-headquartered engineering firm offering surveying, geomatics, and infrastructure services across Ontario. Direct competitor for surveying-led contracts with municipal, provincial, and federal clients in the same Ottawa/NCR market.

Broad incumbents

• WSP Global Inc. Global professional services firm with significant Canadian surveying and geomatics capabilities following the Wood Environment & Infrastructure and Golder acquisitions. Competes for major federal, municipal, and large-scale private surveying contracts but operates at significantly greater scale than FSD.
• AECOM Canada Ltd. Global infrastructure consulting firm with a Canadian geomatics and surveying practice serving federal, provincial, and municipal clients. Competes for large-scale surveying and mapping assignments as part of broader multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, particularly federal government work.
• Stantec Inc. Major global engineering, architecture, and geomatics consultancy with extensive surveying and mapping practices across Canada. Larger, multi-national player offering surveying as one service line within a much broader portfolio — competes for larger institutional and government surveying contracts in the Ottawa market.
• exp Global Inc. Canadian-headquartered engineering and professional services firm with surveying capabilities across Ontario. Larger-scale competitor offering surveying within a broader multi-disciplinary consulting portfolio, competing for both private development and public-sector contracts in the National Capital Region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/farley-smith-denis-surveying-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Farley, Smith & Denis Surveying