Umbraco launches Canadian hosting option

Odense, Denmark, April 29^th 2025, open-source .NET CMS platform provider, Umbraco, has expanded its regional hosting options by adding Microsoft Azure’s Central Canada region, allowing Umbraco Cloud customers to host web content geographically closer to their users in Canada.

Adding the option to host projects in Microsoft Azure’s facility in Toronto is designed to support organizations that are developing websites on Umbraco Cloud for clients whose data cannot be stored or processed outside of Canada.

Commenting on the investment, Umbraco CEO, Mats Persson, said, “Companies operating in Canada are bound by strict federal, provincial, and public sector privacy laws governing the handling and processing of citizens’ personal information. We want to support partners building websites on Umbraco for Canadian businesses, and enterprise customers operating in Canada, so that they can comply with local laws and provide the best user experience to Canadians.”

Canada’s data privacy laws span federal laws, chiefly the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and The Health Privacy Act. Bill C-27 proposed in 2022, introduced the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. Companies operating in Canada must also abide by provincial, and indigenous data handling regulations. Provincial regulations include the Quebec Bill 64, the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) in Ontario, and Health Information Act (HIA) in Alberta. Additionally, the Indigenous Data Sovereignty regulations require that data collection, storage, processing, and protection follow the First Nations’ principles of Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP®).

Umbraco’s expanded regional hosting will allow organizations the flexibility to select whether their Umbraco Cloud projects are stored and served in Canada, Western Europe, the UK, Australia, or the US. Canadian regional hosting makes it easier for organizations to start, develop and maintain Umbraco Cloud projects, with the reassurance that data will be stored within their correct jurisdiction, in compliance with Canadian privacy laws.

Umbraco Cloud’s managed hosting infrastructure provides 24/7 service monitoring, automatic patching, and single-click feature upgrades, allowing development teams to focus on creating their Umbraco CMS projects.

When beginning a new project, Umbraco Cloud users will now be presented with the following options under the Region menu:

• West Europe
• East US
• South UK
• East Australia
• Central Canada

Welcoming the addition of the Canada regional hosting option, Amy Yu, president of Kickbyte Digital, a digital agency headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, said,

“The availability of Canadian regional hosting for Umbraco Cloud is a game changer for Canadian organizations and is particularly vital for public sector clients seeking solutions securely hosted in Canada. As an Umbraco Gold Partner, we are excited Canadian clients can now leverage the power of Umbraco Cloud while maintaining data sovereignty, enhancing local website performance, and reinforcing a strong commitment to Canadian data privacy and regulatory compliance.”

Hosting website content geographically closer to users means that data is transferred over shorter distances, which can reduce electricity consumption and offer environmental benefits, while also making websites run faster.

David Taylor, Partner at Versive, a digital agency in Toronto, which develops websites and digital services for several Canadian healthcare organizations, observes that, “Canada has strong privacy laws, particularly around healthcare data. We are really pleased to be able to offer Canadian hosting to our clients, providing them with assurance that their information will be stored on servers located within Canada’s borders with a provider that is compliant with federal and provincial data legislation. Storing and serving web content within Canada will also support faster web page load times for users on both sides of the border.”

Filip Bech-Larsen, CTO, Umbraco, said, “By offering the Canadian hosting option, Umbraco Cloud websites can operate even faster for our customers in Canada. This helps our partners accelerate development, shorten time-to-market for new digital experiences, and deliver a better user experience.”