abstract Statistical analyses are performed upon the earthquakes in existing catalogues of earthquakes in Canada. A relationship is presented between acceleration amplitude, magnitude, and distance for both eastern and western Canada. It is shown that the same relationship does not hold for each area. An ordered set of acceleration amplitudes is computed for several sites using this relationship. The first analysis makes use of the amplitude distribution from this list. By this method, certain parameters, and the return periods of accelerations of specific amplitudes are computed for a number of points which form a grid on a map. Contour maps are presented for these parameters and return periods. The second analysis makes use of the distribution of annual extremes of acceleration amplitudes to derive a similar and related set of parameters. This method produces an estimation of the acceleration amplitudes with certain return periods for a number of sites. Contour maps are presented showing these data. For both approaches, data are presented for specific sites of interest, and in the case of eastern Canada, a comparison is made with historical records.