Can I register a site (like mysite.ca) and physically host it in the
United States (say, in Florida)?

Support your position (e.g. show your work) :)

Greetings cmaury-ga,

First of all, I have to qualify myself in order to evoke confidence in
my answer! I own a web hosting company and have operated in the
internet services field for over 2 years.

The answer, quite simply to your question is 'Yes, you can.'
Registration of domain names, as was pointed out in a comment can be
restricted at the country code level, however, the determination of
where the site is hosted is up to you.

For example, let's say you register and now own 'mysite.ca'. The
process of hosting the domain is separate from the registration of the
domain name. The only time they mix is when you register or change
your 'nameserver' information with the registrar. This allows the
registrar to know where the actual files of your site are located for
forwarding purposes. Your hosting company will give you the names and
IP addresses of their namesevers for this purpose, and they do not
necessarily have to be in Canada, although they can be. It's
ultimately up to you.

I know I haven't supported my position, but I hope by qualifying
myself as an expert will suffice.

If you definitely MUST have documentation, post a followup
clarification before rating the answer and I can find it for you.

Good luck with your new site!

~mosquitohawk-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by mosquitohawk-ga on 19 Nov 2002 09:16 PST

Glad to help you out, here you go--

Here is the answer you're looking for, although I recommend reading
the entire article, your answer is in paragraph 3, first sentence:
http://dnessentials.com/guides/cc-tld.cfm

Here is a fantastic article from Domain Name Essentials that explains
all the 'behind the scenes' stuff concisely and in an easy to
understand format: http://dnessentials.com/guides/howitworks.cfm


Other interesting reading regarding domain names and DNS:

http://dnessentials.com/guides/intro.cfm
http://www.cira.ca (This is the country-code manager for the .ca
extension, surprising though, they don't address your issue, but I
thought their address might be helpful to you anyway.)



Here is one US country that offers webhosting to international
customers:

http://www.hostsave.com/faqs/international_domains.htm  (Florida, US)

Thanks for the quick answer.  I am asking that you provide the
supporting documentation, but I am not tying it to your compensation. 
Instead, I am trusting that you will indeed provide it as you say you
will.

I appreciate all of input provided by the researchers.  Thanks again

I have found nothing that states that a .ca domain must me hosted in
the Canada, but I am posting this as a comment as opposed to an
answer.  I researched at CIRA, the domain authority for the .ca domain
and there was nothing stated in their rules or regulations that stated
that .ca domains must be hosted by a Canadian host.  If I can find
support for this, I will let you know.

-THV

It appears that as long as you are a Canadian, you can host the domain
name in Kathmandu for all they care and keep the .ca domain name. See
the rules of registration at
(http://www.cira.ca/official-doc/116.RPPG_00011EN___v2.2.txt).

it is my understanding that only canadians may register a .ca address,
but there are no restrictions on where it may be hosted. In fact,
given the structure of the internet, it would be next to impossible to
enforce such a rule if it were to exist.